‘I Was A Young, Fit FOX Sports Reporter—But My Heart Was Shutting Down’-Jenn Hale

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I was transferred to the cardiac intensive care unit, where I would stay the night. I assured them I was fine to go home—I’d been on television just hours prior. But I ended up staying in the hospital for the next week for more and more tests.

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Jennifer Hale was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy at 38. Life expectancy: 5 years.

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"As I made excuses for my symptoms, my heart was becoming more and more enlarged."

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I wore the vest for six months, and thankfully, my heart never needed to be shocked. In fact, the medicine worked so well that now, almost two years after my diagnosis, my heart is pumping at 50 percent capacity. I was removed from the transplant list this past February, and I cried my first tears of joy in a long, long time.

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I’m so relieved that I’m healthy now, but if I had known the signs earlier, maybe I wouldn’t have had to go through almost two years of worrying that my heart could stop at any moment. I want all women—heck, all people—to know that what happened to me doesn’t have to happen to them.

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