Women’s heart care helps great-grandmother get more time

Sharon C. has spent most of her life caring for others. At 79 years old, Sharon’s life is rich with love, faith, and gratitude. She raised six children, built a family in Nashville that now includes twenty grandchildren and eleven great-grandchildren, but over the past two decades she’s experienced heart symptoms that pushes her to put herself first.

Heart disease first touched Sharon’s life not through her own body, but through her children.

Two of her daughters required specialized heart surgeries, one as a teenager and another as a newborn. Watching her children navigate heart conditions at such young ages shaped Sharon’s awareness of heart health early on.“When it’s your child,” Sharon said, “you pay attention to everything.”

While in her 40s and 50s, Sharon began experiencing symptoms of her own. She listened to her body, even when the symptoms were difficult to describe and even harder to explain to others. Sharon developed high blood pressure. Around that same time, she began experiencing chest pain. “It was a squeezing feeling,” she explained. “Like the worst labor pain in the world, but in my heart.”

The pain came in waves. Her chest pain was unpredictable, and it didn’t match what she had been told heart pain was “supposed” to feel like.

Sharon sought care. She underwent stress tests, emergency room visits, and cardiac evaluations. She hoped for clarity. Instead, she often left appointments with more questions than answers.

“For a long time, I didn’t feel heard,” Sharon said. “I started to wonder if I was just supposed to live with it.”

Eventually, Sharon was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, giving her symptoms a name for the first time. Over the years, her care expanded as new heart challenges emerged. She developed AFib, underwent procedures to manage her heart rhythm, and ultimately received a pacemaker-defibrillator.

“I later found out I was completely dependent on it,” she said. “If I didn’t have it, I wouldn’t be here.”

Despite years of treatment and close follow-up, Sharon’s chest pain continued.

Now in her late 70s, Sharon’s electrophysiologist recommended she see Nishtha Sareen, MD, MPH, an interventional cardiologist and medical director of the Women’s Heart Center at Ascension Saint Thomas Heart. The Women’s Heart Center provides comprehensive, multidisciplinary care led by heart specialists trained to understand how heart disease presents differently in women than men.

Dr. Sareen suspected microvascular disease, a condition affecting the small vessels of the heart that often does not appear on traditional testing and is frequently underdiagnosed in women. To confirm the diagnosis, Dr. Sareen performed a specialized catheterization through Sharon’s arm, allowing her to closely examine the small vessels behind the heart.

Sharon recalled the moment clearly, “She patted my shoulder and said, ‘We have answers.’ I cried.”

After years of uncertainty, Sharon finally had a diagnosis for the pain she had been experiencing for decades.

With answers finally in hand, Sharon and Dr. Sareen worked together to determine the best treatment approach. Because Sharon already manages multiple heart conditions, her treatment  plan required careful balance. They explored medications to help manage her symptoms while minimizing side effects. Since the episodes are not daily or even weekly, her care team continues to manage her condition alongside the medications she already takes.

Through it all, Sharon credits her resilience to three things: her faith, her family, and the care she has received at Ascension Saint Thomas Heart.

“I thank the Lord every day,” she said. “I’m almost 80, and I’ve lived with this for more than 25 years. I’m still here.”

Her family remains her anchor. She looks forward to watching her grandchildren get married, welcoming more great-grandchildren, and celebrating milestones still ahead. Her hope for her 80th birthday is simple, to ride a horse again, just as she did as a child.

“I want to be here for those moments,” she said. “Every extra day is a gift.”

Looking back, Sharon believes her experiences caring for her daughters gave her the courage to advocate for herself when something didn’t feel right. That’s the message she wants other women to hear.

“Trust your instincts,” she said. “If something feels off, don’t ignore it. Keep asking questions. Find doctors who listen, especially ones who understand women’s heart health.”

Her heart has been through a lot, but it remains full.

Learn more about women’s heart care at Ascension Saint Thomas and schedule an appointment by visiting our Women’s Heart Center page.