Lindsay's Wounds of Wisdom Are Saving Lives Around the World

"Most people have never heard of PPCM and the cure...Unless you have suffered and have come back from times of death like Lindsay. PPCM Awareness Day Is Every Day to prevent "The Silent Killer" of healthy young pregnant women. Lindsay's wounds of wisdom save lives globally by educating others through PPCM FUND INC. "

You always led a healthy lifestyle and kept to a rigorous fitness routine. Was that by choice? You weren't prone to any illnesses growing up, were you?

I have always been active and healthy in mind, body, and spirit. Since I was a little girl, I've maintained a healthy lifestyle. I enjoy my daily workout classes. I began dance classes at the age of three in my hometown of Cherry Hill, New Jersey. At the age of four, my father taught me to ski, and shortly after fly fishing, I have been skiing and fishing ever since. When I was in my 20's, I picked up snowboarding, surfing, and hiking all over California. I love a good hike!

It wasn't until the day after Thanksgiving, November 2016, when I experienced PPCM, that I was unable to keep up my rigorous fitness routines. Though Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) took the grrr from my roar, I try not to let it slow me down. I may not be able to go as rigorous as I once could, but I still do what I can, some days more or less than others. Whether it's yoga, Equinox, or hiking, I continue to build my strength and endurance so I can be a voice for others and raise awareness.

Many women, no matter what their age, are often nervous about their first pregnancy. Were you? Did you maintain your healthy lifestyle during your pregnancy?

I didn't dread the delivery; I looked forward to the day I gave birth to my son. I waited all of my life and never realized anything could make me as happy as my son, Liam. I tried to maintain my workout classes at Equinox. However, by the 3rd month of my pregnancy, my ankles were in pain and as swollen as water balloons. When it reached the point where it was even hard to catch my breath, I had to stop going to the gym for the 1st time ever in my life!

It was incredibly frustrating; I wanted to be the pregnant woman that would go from a yoga class, straight to the delivery room. Unfortunately, until you experience it, you can't imagine how difficult it is.

OBGYNs always run various tests, as well as discuss risks and precautions with their patients throughout their pregnancy. At any time during your pregnancy with Liam, did your OB-GYN discuss PPCM with you?

No! Nothing was discussed with me about PPCM during my pregnancy, nor after when my symptoms progressed. There are several preventative screenings and tests to prevent Peripartum cardiomyopathy, one being an NT-PRO BNP Test. But not once was I ever screened or tested. John, my hero, and Liam's father, and I expressed concerns during my prenatal checkups. Even though we attempted to explain the symptoms to the doctors, they continued to go by their charts and ignore what we were telling them.

I had one doctor misdiagnose me with gestational diabetes. So, I followed up with a nutritionist, monitored my diet and blood levels every week for months. I showed my doctor that the results came back normal, yet what I felt going on in my body didn't seem to matter. The longer they ignored my symptoms, the deadlier the disease became. Peripartum Cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is a rare disease. It only shows up in the NT-PRO BNP blood test. What's terrifying is, doctors are not currently performing these tests. It's a simple precaution that could prevent thousands of deaths. Yet I had to die three times before I found out about it. Did I mention, the doctor told me, "You drew the lucky straw."

When were you first diagnosed with PPCM? During your pregnancy or after you gave birth to Liam?

The doctors finally diagnosed me with PPCM three months after Liam was born after I suffered three consecutive cardiac arrests within 24 hours, which caused a hypothermia coma. As a result, I had a defibrillator implanted inside me. Oh yeah, I drew the lucky straw!

When I awoke in an Arizona hospital, I had a nurse greet me, welcoming me back to the living. My nurse said, "it is so very nice to meet you finally. You are a surviving miracle," and that was the first time that I had ever heard of this disease Peripartum Cardiomyopathy "PPCM. The new treating physicians confirmed to me that I am the 1% survivor in the state of California from PPCM.

It was these doctors at Banner Estrella Medical Center, located in Phoenix, Arizona, that saved my life. On November 16, 2016, I went to the hospital with a 104-degree fever. Though I felt awful, they said that I was okay and suggested having a lovely Thanksgiving vacation.

Ten weeks into my pregnancy with Liam, they could have cured me had my OBGYN only given me the NT-PRO BNP test. Another reason why this test should be mandatory. Dr. James Fett and the iPAC lab have done their investigations and research to prove that medically speaking, no woman should ever die from PPCM. You can find their research on my website at PPCMFund.com.

Were you diagnosed with PPCM by an OBGYN or a Cardiologist?

Neither Dr. Vinay Bangalore, a Pulmonologist, diagnosed me on November 28, 2016. He is a specialist at Banner Estrella medical center, located in Phoenix, Arizona.

Is PPCM a hereditary disease?

Although they have a few genetic tests, they believe this is a disease that can happen to a woman of any race or age, healthy or not. Most studies are in the early stages. However, it's still too early to tell.

PPCM causes your heart to become enlarged around the time of your delivery. This enlargement weakens your heart muscle and makes pumping blood more difficult. What we do know is, African-American women have a higher death rate in the US than other demographics. Others who potentially are a higher risk for infection are women that tend to retain fluid. Often, very fit/slim women or even those with a petite build often don't show any signs at all, which is why I also call this disease, "The Silent Killer."

Which doctor decided that a defibrillator was the best course of action for your recovery (and when)? Was it the OBGYN or Pulmonologist?

Dr. Vinay Bangalore, a pulmonologist at Banner Estrella Medical Center located in Phoenix, Arizona, diagnosed me. He told my family that I would eventually relapse and that the device will save my life someday. Dr. Vinay Bangalore was adamant that the defibrillator was the only device that would keep me alive. I am eternally grateful to this doctor and his team, who saved my life by removing the toxic fluid and infection out of my body.

Are you aware of any test that can tell an OBGYN whether or not their patient has PPCM during pregnancy? A test such as the Group B streptococcus (GBS) screening, glucose screenings, or others that we are mandated to take? If so, what is it, and do you know of any OBGYNs that administer the testing?

There is an inexpensive blood test that can diagnose pregnancy-induced heart failure called Peripartum Cardiomyopathy. They can diagnose it as early as ten weeks into the pregnancy. The only blood test that the OBGYN can and should be administering during pregnancy, which can determine if PPCM is present, is the NT-PRO BNP Test. There are some forms of genetic screenings available now. However, this is not related to the history of family heart disease because this is an infectious fluid disease that affects the heart. We still have a lot to learn about PPCM. Through my non-profit, PPCM Fund, the goal is to bring awareness to prevent any further casualties of PPCM.

I flew to Washington, DC May 2019, to seek additional support from Congress. On May 6, through the 8th, I went to Washington, DC, and participated in passing a bill. The bill piggybacked off postpartum depression because postpartum depression has awareness, whereas PPCM does not. My mission was a success. I educated the senators at the Capitol Hill about the PPCM-Peripartum Cardiomyopathy up-and-coming bill.

I spoke in front of senators, explaining that there is a practical solution to a real problem. I stated, "Early Diagnosis Saves Lives." The key to saving pregnancy-induced heart failure due to Peripartum Cardiomyopathy is to raise the standard Screening, Testing Labs implementing them "during and after pregnancy." Including providing the NT-pro BNP Test, BPN Test, Chest X-Ray, and an EKG/Echocardiogram. Every woman should know their heart & EF% before and after delivery to even compare. The Pro B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-PRO BNP) and Chest X-Ray will determine if the heart has weakened and enlarged. In some cases, an echocardiogram cannot determine PPCM. However, a chest x-ray is more accurate to see if it has grown.

The defibrillator triggered a life-threatening allergic reaction in your body. What happened to that? How did that affect your recovery?

After 18 months of being misdiagnosed by several physicians and medical centers, I figured out what had been wrong with me. I was having an allergic reaction to the device and the wire running through my heart and chest. Still today, my veins show signs of distress. There is a pain, running across my chest and down my left arm.

For 18 months, I had visited numerous electrophysiologists as well as cardiologists. Everyone concurred that I needed the device to survive, but yet, no one had known that I was allergic to this defibrillator. Sadly, as I mentioned, I had never been patch tested for allergies before inserting the defibrillator.

On Valentine's Day 2018, eighteen months after the implant, Dr. Noel G. Boyle, MD Ph.D. Electrophysiologist and Dr. Karol Watson, MD Ph.D. Cardiologist and the head of women’s heart disease at UCLA in California had to remove the device. A new device was implanted in my heart on November 28, 2016, to keep my heart from stopping again. Just a few months later, there were significant signs of something wrong, potentially even a blood clot. Every specialist that I saw agreed that something seemed amiss. My veins were black and blue. However, the doctors still insisted that I needed the defibrillator to stay alive.

The situation became dire as time went on. I continued writing to vascular specialists explaining to them that there was something genuinely wrong. My email subject lines to these doctors in February of 2019 were: "I am dying, I look like a vampire that was bitten by a werewolf, and I don't have much time left." I would send photos of my decaying body, which needed immediate medical attention. The ER could not help me! I knew that I was dying; I wasn't ready after just having a baby and was terrified knowing that this was it.

My doctors told me I was a liability, and no physician or surgeon wanted to remove or touch me, including the doctor who implanted the device. Finally, Dr. Noel G. Boyle, MD Ph.D., and my current cardiologist, Dr. Karol Watson MD Ph.D., agreed to remove it at my request. Although they made it clear to me that there was no guarantee that I would be able to survive the surgery or without the device. They told me I had an 80% mortality rate and that one tear or one tug of the wire pulling out of my heart could mean that I would need a heart transplant or would die.

The device was too large for my body frame and was piercing out of the skin. My doctors agreed with me and said that I was right, that the device was killing me. My heart was bluish-black before pulling the wire out of my heart. After it started to pump normally, it turned red.

I stayed strong, knowing that it wasn't my time to die. I kept the faith and knew my body and had to trust my intuition that something felt wrong. Dr. Karol E. Watson, the Co-Director of UCLA's Program in Preventive Cardiology, never left my side. She was the one who showed compassion, PPCM respect, and advocacy to save my life.

You have been working hard not only at regaining your health, but lobbying to get a bill passed in Congress. Can you share that with us?

Regaining my health is my daily focus and my foundation. My life's purpose is to lobby this bill until Congress passes it. I recently visited and requested help to write up this bill at the school of social work of practice and policy at the University Of Pennsylvania, where I attended my masters. They are currently working with me and helping to make this happen.

I have met with Adam Schiff, the US Representative for California's 28th Congressional District, to educate him on the maternal mortality issue. I suggested raising the standards and implementing mandatory testings such as the NT-PRO BNP in Washington DC May 7, 2019, at the Capitol and followed up in the California office on June 11, 2019.

While I was in Washington, DC, I shared my story at a women's postpartum depression advocacy group hosted by Christy Turlington’s non profit, “Every Mother Counts.” Three women who attended the group contacted me later. They let me know they were diagnosed with PPCM and were receiving treatments thanks to my speech and spreading awareness.

I continue to lobby this bill with petitions, meetings with Congressional districts in California, Charity fundraising, and creating quality content. I also organize PSAs to educate the medical communities and the public on this deadly preventable disease.

I always say, "My wounds have wisdom." I will continue to educate and gain the respect of the medical communities, Congress, and all humanity. I will support my global pregnancy movement for our children and our children's children's future.

What are your immediate goals with your foundation, PPCM Fund?

In addition to my daily lobbying of the NT-Pro BNP being mandatory, my immediate goals are this interview and my gratitude for this opportunity to have a voice during heart awareness month. Our upcoming gala event this Mother's Day weekend will help me help others.

My other goals include a conversation with the head of the American College of Gynecology and Obstetrics (ACOG) and about the BNP Test. I plan to meet with them and ask why they support screening for every other pregnancy-related disease during and after labor on their website except Peripartum Cardiomyopathy (PPCM). I want to ask why they continue to ignore the significance of this deadly disease. My site offers a self-test proven to save lives from PPCM. This test was designed & invented by Dr. James Fett, a researcher advocate for women suffering from PPCM around the world.

What are your long term goals to accomplish through PPCM Fund?

The Prevention Project is my long term goal. I would like to get licensed to develop a specific medical center to treat ONLY PPCM women in Los Angeles. I want to work with other departments that advocate for the families who suffer since it does not exist. PPCM is a specific disease; it's the cancer of pregnancy and needs a specific hospital in Los Angeles, California.

The partner and new daddies struggle and suffer just as much but in a different way. PPCM is severely neglected and needs advocacy coping! The families are very much affected as well, and there is little to zero advocacy for mental health. Not just for the patient, but the children, the spouse or partner of the extended family members. I have witnessed how traumatizing PPCM can be for families that have watched the suffering or have lost loved ones to this disease.

My goal is to assist and save as many women and families as possible. Our mission is to eradicate Peripartum Cardiomyopathy, to advocate, educate, and further research the disease and aid in its prevention.

How is your health today? Do you have ongoing treatment or surgeries?

I take life one breath, moment, and day at a time. The PPCM awareness day is every day of my life. I have damage from the defibrillator, and if it is not corrected, I will need another surgery.

I have no treatment other than my dedication to the gym. A Vascular Specialist told me that I have a thrombotic compression syndrome due to the defibrillator pushing my nerves, arteries, and muscles that created a wall. If I am to hold my left arm up longer than 30 seconds, I have a loss of blood flow, which causes my arm and hand to have a tingling sensation. If the doctors don't rectify the problem, they have said I might have to have my arm amputated.

Fortunately, I don't have to re-learn to walk and talk. Although, you don't come back from the dead without a price, and I was pronounced dead three times for over 30 min each time. My BNP results are currently 44, 25 is the norm! I call my shortness of breaths as episodes when I have a hard time taking a deep satisfying breath.

How is your son Liam's health? Are the children of women that suffer from PPCM at risk immediately or down the road?

My son is a healthy three 1/2-year-old. He's smart, athletic and is a happy boy considering. He has a clean bill of health and seems to be doing very well. The truth is, we don't know enough about it yet. I do worry, though, for my son that he may develop long-term side effects. I have noticed a common denominator, although it doesn't apply to everybody. There were approximately 20 people in my delivery room that had PPCM awareness and had not picked up the signs. When the doctor delivered Liam through a C-section, there was not one drop of blood on him because I was full of fluid! I had the whole birth on video when they pulled him out and said happy birthday. I had so much fluid and no blood on my newborn son. There is a lot of immediate risk to a baby with a mother who can't breathe and is suffering from a slow, painful death. How can a baby not possibly have long-term effects? I wonder about this every day about my son!

Should women ask their OBGYNs about this during their pregnancy if they suspect that they may have PPCM? Or should they go to an Emergency Room?

YES! Every healthy, young, female of any race should 100% talk and educate each other about PPCM. I believe no one is safe from PPCM. You should ask your OB/GYN as well as educate them during the pregnancy whether they suspect that they are PPCM or not; this should be mandatory!

Nobody ever thinks it can happen to them, especially if you are healthy. We only want to think happy thoughts when a baby is in our belly. Yet, we still have to be aware to prevent a catastrophe. The NT pro BNP testing can determine if you have the disease. It has to be more than a doctor just looking at a patient or a pregnant woman. It doesn't matter if the OBGYN has over 40 years of experience. Some girls have zero symptoms, which is why I called this disease "the silent killer." Everyone should have this test throughout their life. The BNP test includes men and children; it's not just for pregnant women.

What is the best course of action for our readers learning about this and your experience today?

The best course of action for my readers is to educate themselves. Get out there and spread awareness, starting with their medical physicians, families, and loved ones. Learn from my experience on my website PPCM FUND. Too many women have suffered and died when there are preventative measures to PPCM. Knowledge is not only power but life-saving regarding PPCM and a straightforward conversation like this interview. Visit PPCMFUND.com to learn more about "the silent killer" in young, healthy, pregnant women. My wounds have wisdom! PPCM Awareness Day Is Everyday!

Are you aware of any test that can tell an OBGYN whether or not their patient has PPCM during pregnancy? A test such as the Group B streptococcus (GBS) screening, glucose screenings, or others that we are mandated to take? If so, what is it, and do you know of any OBGYNs that administer the testing?

There is an inexpensive blood test that can diagnose pregnancy-induced heart failure called Peripartum Cardiomyopathy. They can diagnose it as early as ten weeks into the pregnancy. The only blood test that the OBGYN can and should be administering during pregnancy, which can determine if PPCM is present, is the NT-PRO BNP Test.

There are some forms of genetic screenings available now. However, this is not related to the history of family heart disease because this is an infectious fluid disease that affects the heart. We still have a lot to learn about PPCM. Through my non-profit, PPCM Fund, the goal is to bring awareness to prevent any further casualties of PPCM.

I flew to Washington, DC May 2019, to seek additional support from Congress. On May 6, through the 8th, I went to Washington, DC, and participated in passing a bill. The bill piggybacked off postpartum depression because postpartum depression has awareness, whereas PPCM does not. My mission was a success. I educated the senators at the Capital Hill about the PPCM-Peripartum Cardiomyopathy up-and-coming bill.

I spoke in front of senators, explaining that there is a practical solution to a real problem. I stated, "Early Diagnosis Saves Lives." The key to saving pregnancy-induced heart failure due to Peripartum Cardiomyopathy is to raise the standard Screening, Testing Labs implementing them "during and after pregnancy." Including providing the NT-pro BNP Test, BPN Test, Chest X-Ray, and an EKG/Echocardiogram.

Every woman should know their heart & EF% before and after delivery to even compare. The Pro B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-pro BNP) Chest X-Ray will determine if the heart has weakened and enlarged. In some cases, an echocardiogram cannot determine PPCM. However, a chest x-ray is more accurate to see if it has grown.

The defibrillator triggered a life-threatening allergic reaction in your body. What happened to that? How did that affect your recovery?

After 18 months of being misdiagnosed by several physicians and medical centers, I figured out what had been wrong with me. I was having an allergic reaction to the device and the wire running through my heart and chest. Still today, my veins show signs of distress. There is a pain, running across my chest and down my left arm.

For 18 months, I had visited numerous electrophysiologists as well as cardiologists. Everyone concurred that I needed the device to survive, but yet, no one had known that I was allergic to this defibrillator.

Sadly, as I mentioned, I had never been patch tested for allergies before inserting the defibrillator.

On Valentine's Day 2018, eighteen months after the implant, Doctor Noel G. Boyle, MD Ph.D. Electrophysiologist and Doctor Karol Watson, MD Ph.D. Cardiologist and head of woman heart disease at UCLA in California had to remove the device.

A new device was implanted in my heart on November 28, 2016, to keep my heart from stopping again. Just a few months later, there were significant signs of something wrong, potentially even a blood clot. Every specialist that I saw agreed that something seemed amiss. My veins were black and blue. However, the doctors still insisted that I needed the defibrillator to stay alive.

The situation became direr as time went on. I continued writing to vascular specialists explaining to them that there was something genuinely wrong.

My email subject lines to these doctors in February of 2019 were: "I am dying, I look like a vampire that was bitten by a werewolf, and I don't have much time left." I would send photos of my decaying body, which needed immediate medical attention. The ER could not help me! I knew that I was dying; I wasn't ready after just having a baby and was terrified knowing that this was it.

My doctors told me I was a liability, and no physician or surgeon wanted to remove or touch me, including the doctor who implanted the device. Finally, Doctor Noel G. Boyle, MD Ph.D., and my current cardiologist, Doctor Karol Watson MD Ph.D., agreed to remove it at my request. Although they made it clear to me that there was no guarantee that I would be able to survive the surgery or without the device. They told me I had an 80% mortality rate and that one tear or one tug of the wire pulling out of my heart could mean that I would need a heart transplant or would die.

The device was too large for my body frame and was piercing out of the skin. My doctors agreed with me and said that I was right, that the device was killing me. My heart was bluish-black before pulling the wire out of my heart. After it started to pumping normal, it turned red.

I stayed strong, knowing that it wasn't my time to die. I kept the faith and knew my body and had to trust my intuition that something felt wrong.

Dr. Karol E. Watson, the Co-Director of UCLA's Program in Preventive Cardiology, never left my side. She was the one who showed compassion, PPCM respect, and advocacy to save my life.

You have been working hard not only at regaining your health, but lobbying to get a bill passed in Congress. Can you share that with us?

Regaining my health is my daily focus and my foundation. My life's purpose is to lobby this bill until Congress passes it.

I recently visited and requested help to write up this bill at the school of social work of practice and policy at the University Of Pennsylvania, where I attended my masters. They are currently working with me and helping to make this happen.

I have met with Adam Schiff, the US Representative for California's 28th Congressional District, to educate him on the maternal mortality issue. I suggested raising the standards and implementing mandatory testings such as the NT-PRO BNP in Washington DC May 7, 2019, at the Capital and followed up in the California office on June 11, 2019.

While I was in Washington, DC, I shared my story at a women's postpartum depression advocacy group to educate them. Three women who attended the group contacted me later. They let me know they were diagnosed with PPCM and were receiving treatments thanks to my speech and spreading awareness.

I continue to lobby this bill with petitions, meetings with Congressional districts in California, Charity fundraising, and creating quality content. I also organize PSAs to educate the medical communities and the public on this deadly preventable disease.

I always say, "My wounds have wisdom." I will continue to educate and gain the respect of the medical communities, Congress, and all humanity. I will support my global pregnancy movement for our children and our children's children's future.

What are your immediate goals with your foundation, PPCM Fund?

In addition to my daily lobbying of the NT-Pro BNP being mandatory, my immediate goals are this interview and my gratitude for this opportunity to have a voice during heart awareness month.

Our PPCM FUND upcoming gala event this Mother's Day Weekend, and will help me help others. My other goals include a conversation with the head of the American College of Gynecology and Obstetrics (ACOG) and about the BNP Test.

I plan to meet with them and ask why they support screening for every other pregnancy-related disease during and after labor on their website except Peripartum Cardiomyopathy (PPCM). I want to ask why they continue to ignore the significance of this deadly disease. My site offers a self-test proven to save lives from PPCM. This test was designed & invented by Dr. James Fett, a researcher advocate for women suffering from PPCM around the world.

What are your long term goals to accomplish through PPCM Fund?

The Prevention Project is my long term goal. I would like to get licensed to develop a specific medical center to treat ONLY PPCM women in Los Angeles. I want to work with other departments that advocate for the families who suffer since it does not exist. PPCM is a specific disease; it's the cancer of pregnancy and needs a specific hospital in Los Angeles, California.

The partner and new daddies struggle and suffer just as much but in a different way. PPCM is severely neglected and needs advocacy coping!

The families are very much affected as well, and there is little to zero advocacy for mental health. Not just for the patient, but the children, the spouse or partner of the extended family members. I have witnessed how traumatizing PPCM can be for families that have watched the suffering or have lost loved ones to this disease.

My goal is to assist and save as many women and families as possible. Our mission is to eradicate Peripartum Cardiomyopathy, to advocate, educate, and further research the disease and aid in its prevention.

How is your health today? Do you have ongoing treatment or surgeries?

I take life one breath, moment, and day at a time. The PPCM awareness day is every day of my life. I have damage from the defibrillator, and if it is not corrected, I will need another surgery.

I have no treatment other than my dedication to the gym. A Vascular Specialist told me that I have a thrombotic compression syndrome due to the defibrillator pushing my nerves, arteries, and muscles that created a wall. If I am to hold my left arm up longer than 30 seconds, I have a loss of blood flow, which causes my arm and hand to have a tingling sensation. If the doctors don't rectify the problem, they have said I might have to have my arm amputated.

Fortunately, I don't have to re-learn to walk and talk. Although, you don't come back from the dead without a price, and I was pronounced dead three times for over 30 min each time. My BNP results are currently 44, 25 is the norm! I call my shortness of breaths as episodes when I have a hard time taking a deep satisfying breath.

How is your son Liam's health? Are the children of women that suffer from PPCM at risk immediately or down the road?

My son is a healthy three 1/2-year-old. He's smart, athletic and is a happy boy considering. He has a clean bill of health and seems to be doing very well.

The truth is, we don't know enough about it yet. I do worry, though, for my son that he may develop long-term side effects.

I have noticed a common denominator, although it doesn't apply to everybody. There were approximately 20 people in my delivery room that had PPCM awareness and had not picked up the signs. When the doctor delivered Liam through a C-section, there was not one drop of blood on him because I was full of fluid!

I had the whole birth on video when they pulled him out and said happy birthday. I had so much fluid and no blood on my newborn son. There is a lot of immediate risk to a baby with a mother who can't breathe and is suffering from a slow, painful death. How can a baby not possibly have long-term effects? I wonder about this every day about my son!

Should women ask their OBGYNs about this during their pregnancy if they suspect that they may have PPCM? Or should they go to an Emergency Room?

YES! Every healthy, young, female of any race should 100% talk and educate each other about PPCM.

I believe no one is safe from PPCM. You should ask your OB/GYN as well as educate them during the pregnancy whether they suspect that they are PPCM or not; this should be mandatory!

Nobody ever thinks it can happen to them, especially if you are healthy. We only want to think happy thoughts when a baby is in our belly. Yet, we still have to be aware to prevent a catastrophe. The NT pro BNP testing can determine if you have the disease. It has to be more than a doctor just looking at a patient or a pregnant woman. It doesn't matter if the OBGYN has over 40 years of experience. Some girls have zero symptoms, which is why I called this disease "the silent killer." Everyone should have this test throughout their life. The BNP test includes men and children; it's not just for pregnant women.

What is the best course of action for our readers learning about this and your experience today?

The best course of action for my readers is to educate themselves. Get out there and spread awareness, starting with their medical physicians, families, and loved ones.

Learn from my experience on my website PPCM FUND. I will continuously update my PPCM FUND website. Too many women have suffered and died when there are preventative measures to PPCM. Knowledge is not only power but life-saving regarding PPCM and a straightforward conversation like this interview today.com.

Visit PPCM FUND.com to learn more about "the silent killer" in young, healthy, pregnant women. My wounds have wisdom! PPCM Awareness Day Is Everyday!