TRINITY, Fla. — A Pasco County internal medicine physician was reunited Tuesday with the medical team who saved her life after she suffered a widowmaker heart attack nearly two years ago.
Dr. Monicka Felix works at HCA Florida Trinity Hospital. She also teaches resident physicians.
WATCH: Pasco County physician reunites with medical team after widowmaker heart attack
In June of 2024, she experienced shortness of breath and abdominal pain after a workout.
"I was working out with my personal trainer and after working out, I started experiencing that vague abdominal pain so I went to my car, sat there for a little bit waiting for it to pass," she said.
Dr. Felix said the pain started to get worse so she went to the closest emergency room.
"When I arrived there, you know, I was out of breath. I was gasping for air. I couldn’t even catch my breath. I just opened the door and I diagnosed myself, and I was saying that I was probably having an aortic dissection," said Dr. Felix.
She thought she was having an aortic dissection, but instead she was having a widowmaker heart attack.
"The doctor came in and said, you know, you're not having a dissection, you're actually having a heart attack and my answer to that is I'm too young to have a heart attack," she said.
She went into ventricular fibrillation. She was resuscitated and needed 50 minutes of CPR.
"I’m seeing this abnormal rhythm that’s not compatible with life and that’s the last thing I remember. I underwent about 50 minutes of CPR," she said.
She said she was transferred to HCA Florida Largo Hospital. Doctors placed a stent in her heart, but her heart was still very weak.
"They put something that’s called an Impella which is a device to help pump your heart and give it strength and because I had like multi-organ system failure because the heart had stopped, they put me on ECMO," said Dr. Felix.
On Sep. 1, she was reunited with the medical team at HCA Florida Largo Hospital.
"It was a full circle moment because I'm here because of their hard work and their investment of time and energy," she said.
She is sharing her story to encourage others to never take their health for granted.
"As a physician, don’t take your health for granted, you know, when you’re feeling something’s off, go investigate," she said. "Don’t push it back down. Don’t just say it, it's just going to be okay. Don't delay it because delay can cost your life. It almost cost my life. I mean, I died, and I was resuscitated."
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