After recovering from heart failure related to pregnancy, she went on to game show glory
Dec 20, 2024
Cheryl Stokes of North Carolina had peripartum cardiomyopathy. What she learned prompted her to educate other women about heart health.
Stories From the Heart
This series from American Heart Association News chronicles the inspiring journeys of heart disease and stroke survivors, caregivers and advocates.
AHA News' most-read survivor stories of 2024
Dec 19, 2024
Nearly 100 inspiring tales of survivors were shared this year on American Heart Association News. These five got the most views.
Young athlete had mild heart issues. His autopsy showed he died from an enlarged heart.
Dec 17, 2024
Jaden Blackwell started playing football at age 5, the same year he learned he had a heart murmur. He died from an enlarged heart at 19.
Newborn was in heart failure. Now 13, he helped pass a pulse ox law for babies.
Dec 12, 2024
At Colton Berlin's 1-week checkup, he turned blue in the pediatrician's office. His left ventricle wasn't working.
Her stomachache turned out to be heart failure. Then came a huge reversal.
Dec 10, 2024
Saraa Basaria thought she had food poisoning. She was actually in heart failure, which is now in remission.
Months after a serious stroke, he was back to drawing caricatures
Dec 5, 2024
Thanks to a supportive wife and intense therapy, artist Adam English also returned to the stage with his barbershop quartet.
New mom spent 3 weeks in a coma after massive stroke
Dec 3, 2024
Erin Adelekun had surgery to stop bleeding in her brain. She couldn't walk or talk and spent months in therapy. Now, she's mobile and speaking again.
After a stroke at age 30, she had to learn how to walk again
Nov 25, 2024
Honey German woke up having a stroke. She wants others to know it can happen to anyone at any age.
After childbirth came heart failure – and later, a new heart
Nov 21, 2024
Two months after Ebony Smith-Thomas gave birth to her second child, she was sleeping fitfully with a dry cough. It turned out to be a type of heart failure called peripartum cardiomyopathy.
Basketball coach didn't think his symptoms were a big deal. Good thing he went to the ER anyway.
Nov 19, 2024
Walt Morris dismissed his neck pain and headaches. But when a bolt of jaw pain knocked him to the ground, his wife insisted he go to the hospital. His aorta had torn.