About five million Americans are living with heart failure and our risk for the condition goes up as we get older.
Amanda Daniels got the diagnosis in her 20s. With treatment, she's found a way to live her life and even start a family.
One of the first lessons Daniels had to learn is heart failure doesn't mean your heart has stopped beating and your life is over. It means your heart can no longer keep up with its workload of supplying blood to the rest of your body.
So Amanda Daniels got her diagnosis, let it sink in and then got on with the rest of her life.
For people suspected of having heart disease an echocardiogram test is pretty routine.
An echocardiogram is an ultrasound picture. It has no radiation, it's just ultrasound waves.
Cardiologist Karol Watson says an echocardiogram gives her critical information about how strong the heart is and how well it pumping blood to the rest of the body.
Amanda Daniels was diagnosed with heart failure eight years ago at age 26.
No one knows why Amanda contracted a heart condition, but she'll never forget the fear.
"You're scared that your gonna drop dead at any moment," said Daniels.
Even as a survivor, Daniels was told "that I wouldn't be able to have children because of the medications that I was on and also because the strength of my heart was so weak."
But with the help of surgery to burn away non-functioning parts of her heart and daily medication to prevent her blood pressure from spiking, Amanda -- after almost five years and with clearance from her doctors -- gave birth to baby girl Sophia.
Two years after that, she was pregnant again.
"It's a miracle having two daughters, having two babies because I defy the odds," said Daniels. "I was told I wasn't going to be able to have children and here I am the mother of two wonderful girls."
For a heart failure patient, pregnancy can be difficult, but Amanda went for it.
Amanda will need medication for the rest of her life and she still gets nervous every time she gets an EKG, but she's learned to accept it.
"Embracing the diagnosis is very difficult but it can be very liberating and it allows you to live your life," said Daniels. "I just happen to be living with heart disease."
Amanda now helps run a support group for women with heart disease.
Thursday, May 23 2013 7:27 AM EDT2013-05-23 11:27:37 GMT
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Amanda Daniels was diagnosed with heart failure in her 20s.
