Local woman shares story of overcoming heart failure

February is American Heart month, a time when people can focus on their personal cardiovascular health.

Dr. Umair Malik is a physician who specializes in cardiology and heart health at Memorial in Gulfport. He says it is critical for people to know the signs of possible heart disease or failure. “If you start getting short winded with minimal activity… if you’re starting to notice swelling around your ankles, legs, feet… if you start noticing pain, pressure, heaviness, tightness in the chest, none of this is normal. This should not be happening. So, when that happens, seek medical help.”

These symptoms and more were the exact signs of his patient Sherry Schultz, who experience heart failure. “I was tired sweeping the floor. I would run out of breath. Like, if I would take clothes from the washer and put them in the dryer, I was out of breath. Little things, everyday things that I always did made me so tired and out of breath.”

With Schultz being a stay at home mom and homeschooling three of her four children, she simply didn’t think she had the time to be seen by a professional, but because her symptoms grew more and more severe, her husband made an appointment himself for her to be seen, which potentially saved her life.

While at her appointment, the doctor sent her to the ER where she was tested for a liver related cause, but it all came back normal.

After continuing tests and running an ultrasound on her heart, they realized her heart function was severely reduced by 30 percent.

After taking out lots of fluid and prescribing medication, her heart is pumping like it should. “It’s night and day better. When we initially saw her, it was to a point where she could barely walk from her living room to the bedroom. After all this fluid has come off and we’ve been able to keep it off, essentially, she has returned back to normal life.”

“I’ve learned when I feel bad that I have to take care of myself. If I want to be there for my babies and my family, I have to take care of myself first. Your body is a temple… let’s treat it as such.”