NEW BOSTON, Mich. – Christine Ankenbauer of New Boston has run 21 full marathons and countless other races.
She was used to living a very active life -- running, working out, and teaching fitness classes, in addition to working as a respiratory therapist.
Then something changed.
“In December, January of last year, I was starting to feel extremely exhausted, and I really couldn’t put my finger on it. I just knew that I was completely beat,” said Ankenbauer. “I felt like I needed to lay down a lot. I mentioned it to my physician, and they were like, ‘Well, you’re kind of in that age range. Let’s just get some labs.’”
Christine’s blood work was normal. The doctor adjusted her blood pressure medicine, but she still felt off.
She had no idea how serious her symptoms really were.
“The day before, I ran seven and a half miles on the treadmill, and I had to keep stopping, and I just felt completely horrible. I wrote my doctor, I told her my blood pressure was extremely low, like it was like 80 over 60,” remembered Ankenbauer.
She didn’t hear from her doctor and went to bed.
“When I woke up in the morning, I was severely nauseated and ran to the bathroom,” said Ankenbauer. “Then just immediately had sharp, stabbing chest pain. Felt like I couldn’t breathe, and I laid on the floor of my bathroom for, I don’t know how long it was, but then I got a cold sweat, and I knew that I had to be having a heart attack.”
Home alone, Ankenbauer found the strength to crawl to her bedroom to find a phone and call for help.
“I live in an area that EMS is not close, and it was an ice storm that morning,” remembered Ankenbauer. “And just thought, there is no way I’m getting to the hospital in time.”
But the Huron Township Fire Department arrived and raced her to Corewell Health Trenton, where the cath lab was ready.
“They found a complete blockage of my right coronary artery and then they found some aneurysms in my other artery,” said Ankenbauer. “The physician said that they stented it successfully.”
It was a shock to everyone who knew her.
“Everybody was really surprised,” said Ankencauer. “My phone was blowing up. I mean, people were saying that, ‘If it can happen to you, I can’t even imagine what’s going to happen to me.’”
In the year since, Ankenbauer has been able to resume running and teaching fitness classes.
“I did cardiac rehab, and they gave me confidence, so I felt comfortable pushing myself,” said Ankenbauer.
She’s also gone back to running races with her family and friends by her side.
Ankenbauer shares her story often to encourage others to trust their gut instinct.
“If you think something’s wrong, I think you have to advocate for yourself. I probably was a little soft in my message to my physicians, and I wish I would have maybe even been dramatic about it and said, ‘I have never felt so horrible in my life. Something is wrong,’” said Ankenbauer.
Doctors still don’t know exactly why Ankenbauer had a heart attack, but say her prior fitness level has helped her recover more quickly.
In hindsight, Ankenbauer did have one red flag that put her at risk. She suffered from pre-eclampsia during each of her three pregnancies. Experts now recognize that pregnancy complications like pre-eclampsia, high blood pressure, and gestational diabetes can all be a warning sign of future heart problems.
Recovery is full of complicated emotions, but as she marks the one year anniversary of her heart attack, Ankenbauer is grateful just to put one foot in front of the other.
“Even running. I mean, you take that for granted. You’re like, ‘Oh, just lace up my shoes and go out,’” said Ankenbauer. “Now, every time I work out, I’m like, ‘This is a big deal. I get to do this again.’”
To learn more about women’s heart health, click here.
To learn more about pregnancy complications and future heart risks, click here.