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CLEVELAND – Heart failure impacts more than three million women in the United States.
But one Pennsylvania woman – who took pride in her heart-healthy lifestyle– never expected to be one of them.
Brenda Kapp, 54, considered herself healthy; she ate right, exercised daily and didn’t smoke, but in 2014 she was having trouble breathing and thought it might be asthma.
“I had started just short of breath and wheezing,” said Kapp.
However, Kapp’s doctors suspected heart trouble.
She saw several specialists but they couldn’t agree on how to treat her, so she drove three hours to Cleveland Clinic where she was diagnosed with a rare and deadly heart condition called giant cell myocarditis.
“These patients tend to be very sick, very quickly, they have a lot of abnormal heart rhythms,” said Maria Mountis, D.O., of Cleveland Clinic. “They go into cardiogenic shock, their heart just becomes very weak, and it’s not pumping out enough blood flow to the rest of their body.”
Kapp’s heart muscle was inflamed and deteriorating quickly. She was shocked to learn she was being admitted to the intensive care unit, in need of a heart transplant.
“They put me on the transplant list and had to have a balloon pump to keep me alive,” said Kapp.
After about two weeks, just as her pump was about to fail, Kapp received a new heart.
“I really feel that God intervened at my last hours,” said Kapp.
Doctors don’t know why Kapp developed the condition which led to heart failure, but one thing is certain, she’s grateful to be alive and encourages others to speak up when something’s wrong.
“You really have to be an advocate for yourself, and when you’re not feeling well and you are healthy and you think, it can’t be anything, you know, serious because I’m healthy, I’m here to prove that, it, there can be something very, very wrong,” said Kapp.
Cleveland Clinic is a nonprofit multispecialty academic medical center that integrates clinical and hospital care with research and education. Located in Cleveland, Ohio, it was founded in 1921 by four renowned physicians with a vision of providing outstanding patient care based upon the principles of cooperation, compassion and innovation. Cleveland Clinic has pioneered many medical breakthroughs, including coronary artery bypass surgery and the first face transplant in the United States. Cleveland Clinic is consistently recognized in the U.S. and throughout the world for its expertise and care. Among Cleveland Clinic’s 82,600 employees worldwide are more than 5,786 salaried physicians and researchers, and 20,700 registered nurses and advanced practice providers, representing 140 medical specialties and subspecialties. Cleveland Clinic is a 6,728-bed health system that includes a 173-acre main campus near downtown Cleveland, 23 hospitals, 280 outpatient facilities, including locations in northeast Ohio; Florida; Las Vegas, Nevada; Toronto, Canada; Abu Dhabi, UAE; and London, England. In 2024, there were 15.7 million outpatient encounters, 333,000 hospital admissions and observations, and 320,000 surgeries and procedures throughout Cleveland Clinic’s health system. Patients came for treatment from every state and 112 countries. Visit us at clevelandclinic.org. Follow us at x.com/CleClinicNews. News and resources are available at newsroom.clevelandclinic.org.
Editor’s Note: Cleveland Clinic News Service is available to provide broadcast-quality interviews and B-roll upon request.
