Christie Thompson always thought she was the picture of health.
The 51-year-old ate right, exercised and also benefited from good genes.
"I really thought I was in control of my health," says Thompson, a teacher at Blair Oaks Elementary School. "My grandparents lived into their 80s, and my parents are that age and still alive, and there's no history of heart disease in my family. I also don't smoke, and I do a lot of yoga."
In addition, at a summer 2011 checkup, her cholesterol levels were in the low to normal range. Even so, a week before Thanksgiving last year, she suffered a heart attack.
"The pain wasn't that bad, but I knew that it wasn't right," says Thompson, who had been out shopping with her daughter, Hallie, earlier that day.
Check out the short film "Just A Little Heart Attack" that tipped Thompson off that she might be having a heart attack. It's at www.newstribune.com/heart