FRANKFORT, Ky (LEX 18) — A Frankfort mother is sharing her story after being diagnosed with a rare genetic heart condition that nearly cost her her life and that her own cardiologist had never seen before.
Vivian Tandy walked into Frankfort Regional Medical Center with chest pain at 33 years old. What Dr. David Sihau eventually discovered was a genetic heart disease called Anomalous Coronary Artery, a condition so rare that it affects less than 1% of people.
"It was such a big scary thing," Tandy said.
The condition, which Tandy was born with, had nothing to do with lifestyle or risk factors.
"I had two other arteries kind of clamped down on my right coronary artery, squeezing, restricting that blood flow, which is definitely a precursor for a heart attack," Tandy said.
Her cardiologist said the condition carries serious risks, particularly for young people.
"These anomalous coronary arteries are the second leading cause of sudden death in young athletes, indeed because the heart muscle can be starved for oxygen and then develop the fatal heart rhythm which is sudden," Sihau said.
"This is the way she was born. This didn't develop. She didn't do anything wrong. She was unfortunate," Sihau said.
The diagnosis almost went undetected. Initial testing came back clean, and it wasn't until doctors performed a heart catheterization that the problem was identified.
"We do a heart catheterization and squirt dye down the arteries that feed the heart muscle to look for blockage," Sihau said.
Sihau credited Tandy's persistence for catching the condition in time. Without it, a situation that ultimately required open-heart surgery could have gone unaddressed.
"To me, it was, yes, sister, like, you were right, you advocated for yourself and you didn't stop until you got the answer that you were so strongly feeling was there," Tandy said.
Heart disease has deeply affected Tandy's family. Her mother died of a heart attack 13 years ago, a loss that weighed heavily on Tandy throughout her own health journey.
"I'm just thinking about how my mom is missing all of these things and how much it hurts," Tandy said.
That grief also became motivation.
"And so to be able to ensure that my daughter doesn't experience the same thing, I would do anything," Tandy said.
Tandy is now celebrating her health with her family. They are planning a trip to Disney World Resort, where she will run a 10K.
"I am so grateful that we found out because I could not imagine leaving my kid behind," Tandy said.
