I survived deadliest sort of heart attack - this is what I saw during my near-death experience

Daily Mail​

4 days ago

A mother-of-three who had a near-death experience after suffering one of the deadliest types of heart attack has revealed in vivid detail what she felt and saw 'on the other side'.
Jenna Tanner, 49, who is now writing a book about the astonishing ordeal, said it has made her realise what really matters in life.
Ms Tanner, from Oklahoma, admits she mistook the first signs—chest pain and breathlessness— as the flu, something her children had recently recovered from.
But just a few days later, on 9 March 2022, the stay-at-home mother suffered a 'widowmaker' heart attack, causing her to lose consciousness.
These attacks occur when there is a full blockage in the heart's biggest artery—and just 12 per cent of victims survive one.
Ms Tanner said: 'It felt like an elephant had walked in on my chest and I knew instantly what was happening.'
Recalling her 'out of body' experience, Ms Tanner said: 'It was like floating through space. I was getting closer to what I would describe as a nebula.
'There was a big cloud of colors moving that were changing. Everything was vivid stars. I was just floating peacefully.'
'Not once did I remember or relive any bad parts of life. Everything that I thought about was the connections I had made with people or places while I was alive.
'It was just all the good stuff.'
Luckily, family members had called emergency services—medics arrived just 13 minutes later and were able to resuscitate her, saving her life.
Referring to Ms Tanner as a 'miracle' case, her cardiologist said: 'In a 20-year career and over 4,000 surgeries, I've never seen anything like this.
'I didn't even know people could survive this.'
When Ms Tanner arrived in hospital, cardiologists implanted a heart pump and a stent to widen the narrowed artery—a procedure which usually requires heart bypass surgery—and restore blood flow to the heart.
And after just ten days in hospital—six of which she spent in intensive care—the mother-of-three walked out on her own, unaided by doctors.
Yet her recovery has been far from easy, seeing her gain almost three stone—which she has since lost—and suffer post-traumatic stress disorder.
The fire department reached Jenna's home within 13 minutes, providing a life-saving service which saw Jenna walk out of hospital just 10 days after suffering a serious heart attack
She now has to take thirteen different types of medication to manage her symptoms.
The fire department, which came to Ms Tanner's rescue as it was closest to where she lived, has since received an award for reaching her in record time and providing life-saving care.
A widowmaker heart attack occurs when a blood clot completely obstructs the left main coronary artery (LMCA), the most critical artery of the heart.
Within minutes, this can cut-off life-giving oxygen to the heart and the muscle can die.
Even if a person receives immediate treatment, this sort of heart attack can cause irreversible tissue damage that can permanently affect the functioning of the heart muscle.
Researchers are now urging health authorities to update current guidelines so more people can be tested for early warning signs—potentially saving thousands of lives.
Ms Tanner's case comes amid a worrying rise in premature deaths from heart attacks and strokes, which last year reached their highest level in over a decade.
MailOnline has previously reported that the number of under-40s treated by the NHS for heart attacks is also climbing, with soaring obesity rates and related health issues believed to be key drivers.
In the UK, around 420 people of working age die of as a result of heart disease each week, totalling an alarming 21,975 a year.
Cardiovascular disease is America's number one killer and nearly 1million people die of it every year.