Symptoms similar to Crossfit-Loving Dad influenza turn out to be heart failure

A New York City father who suffered sudden heart failure and almost lost his life is sharing his survival story after a successful heart transplant, encouraging all people “go to the doctor immediately if you feel like out – life is too precious to sit back.”

Andre Rodrigues was a 40-year-old who loved Crossfit and the school principal enjoying the summer vacation when something suddenly went extremely wrong.

The father of two was with his children in his native Portugal in August 2023 when he experienced alarming symptoms similar to the flu he had never felt before.

“I just felt very sick – never coughing so violently – he hurt,” Rodrigues, now 42, told the post.

In the five-foot-11th and 175 pounds, Rodrigues had to be the portrait of health in the prime minister of his life-a clean meal who was proud to exercise with a run at home. But he became a shell of himself as they spent months without a good day.

“It was shocking – there was no warning,” he said. “He came quickly and enraged.”

He asked for answers from six different doctors “to try to reach the end of what was happening.”

But the group of antibiotics and nasal sprays for a diagnosis of pneumonia and an upper respiratory infection did not shorten the symptoms.

The physical change was dramatic as it hit 190 pounds due to fluid retention.

“What I noticed was completely abnormal,” Rodrigues said, adding that detecting the appearance of abnormally swollen legs made him fear it was a matter of the heart.

After two months of mysterious symptoms – including constant shortness of breath and exhaustion – Rodriguez withdrew to Mount Sinai ER, where he stayed for 12 days.

Instead of a cold or respiratory virus, he learned it was a severe heart failure.

“There were a lot of really scary nights in the hospital,” he said, adding that “not to see my children grow up was my worst thought. It is still my worst thought and fear.”

He said it was myocarditis, a condition that is increasingly associated with young men and Covid’s stroke, which led to the failure of his heart.

“The cause of the myocarditis is unknown,” he added.

Since he had no family history for him and “genetic testing cleared me [anything]“The painted father felt grateful that he would not pass him on his son and daughter, aged 9 and 11.

His heart was operating at 10%.

“The term they use is heart failure in the end stage,” he said, stressing that the normal rate is 50% or higher.

But under the care of Dr. Anuradha Lala of Mount Sinai, he tried a variety of medicines aimed at improving the heart function and minimizing the extent that his heart was deteriorating.

Although genetic testing gave “no genetic basis” for his condition, the doctor told the post. “We do not know the exact reason Andre had a heart failure. But for me, his journey is about knowing the symptoms, knowing when you seek help, following your mind in your body and agreeing with being sick. “

“Building faith and a personal connection is so critical – especially for young people, who can simply want to escape the issue,” Dr. Lala, advanced heart failure and transplant cardiologist at the Mount Sinai Fuster’s heart hospital.

He worked closely with his team, had regular blood work and various tests done under therapeutic care, but there was no improvement. Other organs, including the kidneys and the liver, were affected because they were not getting enough oxygenated healthy blood.

Surviving his children was his biggest motivation. “I was motivated to play football with them again and run with them and they kept me really motivated” to pass this experience, he said.

But by the fall of 2024, he had to go.

“My heart could not dance again and I had to be put on the transplant list” while in ICU to Mount Sinai and an impulse was used to help his leftpiece pump.

Under the care of a team that included the cardiovascular surgeon Dr. Anelechi Anyanwu, Rodrigues matched a applicable heart and underwent successful eight-hour operation in late October.

Return to his museum school in Chelsea, Manhattan, staff and students sent hundreds of emails and letters of support to the fourth year principal, who forced himself to leave his fear and put his full confidence in his team.

Although he does not know much about his donor, he is grateful for the “gift” he gave him life.

By the beginning of January, Rodrigues were ready to return to his beloved school, where staff and students lined the corridors to welcome him again.

“It’s a wonderful community where students show so much empathy – to each other and to me,” he said about emotional reunion.

The future remains bright for Rodrigues, who noted that life will be different “but also beautiful at the same time”.

And, yes, this includes Crossfit in his future.

“The road is still long, but nothing compared to what he was,” Dr. Lala, who asked the public not to write anything that feels worrying. “The goal is not to promote fear, but to promote awareness, about the symptoms that need to promote further evaluation.”

Rodrigative message to others is to seek medical help if something feels out.

“That’s your life. This is your life and life is too precious to sit idly by and not have a proper diagnosis. And even when the diagnosis is scary, trust medical professionals and move forward boldly.

“You have a positive mentality and trust medical professionals. Continue to protect for yourself and your health. “