At 39, Kaylea Towers never expected to be recovering from a heart attack, but six months later she’s feeling better than ever.
Ms Towers felt a bit self-conscious when she found herself surrounded by older people in hospital and in her rehabilitation program, but she says the support has given her a new lease on life.
After completing Portland District Health’s cardiac rehabilitation program and making other changes in her life, Ms Towers has learnt and even benefitted from the experience.
She admits she was shocked when she found out her chest pains and generally feeling unwell had been a heart attack in late September 2022.
“I had chest pains and sore arms after work on Friday and didn’t know what was happening to me,” she said. “I started to feel hot and cold and my arms felt tight but I had some Panadol and thought I’d be right.”
The following Monday, she went to work in Heywood but still didn’t feel right. She visited a pharmacist and checked her blood pressure which was higher than normal so she drove herself to Portland District Health (PDH).
“They did various tests and said I’d had a suspected heart attack,” she said. “I was shocked; I’m not even 40 yet!”
Ms Towers was flown to Geelong for an angiogram and echocardiogram where it was confirmed she had suffered a heart attack.
“I was one of the lucky ones. I didn’t have a blockage so they didn’t have to put in a stent to open up the artery. They put it down to stress.”
The incident made her reassess things. “I was sitting in Geelong waiting for my appointment for the angiogram with all these elderly people with pacemakers. One lovely lady said ‘you’re way too young to be in there, luv’.”
After returning to her home near Dartmoor, Ms Towers completed a 14-week cardiac rehabilitation program at PDH.
“That’s probably the best thing I’ve ever done,” she said. “I was going through a horrible depression. I didn’t know what was going on with me but the rehab program showed me that that’s common in the first few months after having a heart attack.
“I did the gym and online education and worked with the rehab team and started to realise that what I’m feeling was normal.”
Ms Towers has a lifelong health issue with resistance to thyroid hormone that runs in her family and is known to cause anxiety and depression, but it was not connected to the heart attack.
“My specialist said my valves and arteries were good – it was all brought on by stress. The rehab program helped me to address that and then we got my dad into respite so I can now finish off my healing.”
Ms Towers’ father Steve has had a long battle with health issues since a work accident in 1997 and has also had a triple bypass operation.
“Everything was catching up. I was his carer and then my ute broke down, and I lost two dogs and one of my favourite horses died. The GP said I needed to drop my stress levels otherwise I’d be 10-feet under.”
Ms Towers recently completed a depression and stress test as part of finishing the PDH cardiac rehabilitation program.
“I’m back in the normal range and my fitness is back to the normal range,” she said. “I’ve changed what I eat and drink and follow the steps the rehab team worked out for me. I’m also back riding my horse, which has always been a big part of my life but I’ve learnt that I’ve got to learn to listen to my body.
“I can thank the rehab team for that – without them, I wouldn’t have been able to go forward.”
PDH CEO Samantha Sharp said Ms Tower’s recovery was a great example of PDH’s programs helping the community.
“PDH plays an important role in creating a healthier community and it’s always lovely to hear about positive patient experiences,” she said.
