symptoms of heart attack

donnette:hello? hi. can i come in for a second? male:yes ma'am. donnette:if you don't mind, we'd like to talk to you for a minute. male: that's fine. donnette: i love the aspect of my life that involvesvolunteering. if i could - if i could do it

all day long, i would - i would.we're both heart patients, so we know exactly what all you've been through and what - howyou're feeling. so that's why we wanted to come by and just say hello.i'm involved on the national level now with the organization, and i get to help otherpeople, which is a great feeling. i still

enjoy, most of all, visiting the patientsin the hospital, one on one, helping them in thesame way that i was helped before i had my first surgery. we're just here to give you a little bit ofsupport, and let you know that there is life after heart surgery. if there's anything thatwe can do, any questions that we can answer for you, or you just want to talk to somebody, just give us a call. male:all right. donnette:we gather at meetings once a month and we share problems, or feelings, or symptoms,or whatever.

i did see dr. bakir yesterday. we talked about chronic angina and what i can do for it. and i know you have that problem too. female: yes i do.donnette: what do you do? how do you handle it? female: i have a really excellent cardiologist. i- i have a good relationship with him. but the reason i didn't want to tell him was idid not want to have to go through one more surgery, or one more medication; i'm on somany. but i'm glad that i did. donnette:that's fantastic. tom:i'm really proud of donnette. the things that she does, knowing the problems that she has,the pains that she endures; it's really heartwarming to see how she cares. she shares the big heartthat she has.

donnette:you've got baseball practice all week? tom:can we come watch? donnette:spring is coming; the grandkids will be playing baseball, and we try to go to as many gamesas we can. tom:the grandkids are just her - her delight. donnette:joy of our lives. we have a great time with them. dana:my mother is one of - one of a million with everything that she's been through - wow,i get teary thinking about it. but she's my rock, and she's my role model.

dr. steve bakir: it's good to see you here. donnette:it's extremely important to be open and honest with your doctor. and i learned that at a- at kind of a late date. the pain that you're having, anything, any symptoms that you'rehaving at all, they've got to know that so that they'll know how to treat you. and it's- so it's extremely important to be upfront and honest with your cardiologist.speak from your heart.