A 57-year-old woman whose persistent cough lead to a deadly diagnosis was in a race against time to lose weight in order to get a new heart.
Peg Ollinger, of Wisconsin, underwent a heart transplant in November after learning she had an enlarged heart that was slowly deteriorating, leaving her in desperate need for a new one to save her life.
However, the operations manager for a bank was 60 pounds overweight and could not undergo the risky heart transplant – meaning she would need to lose it all before becoming eligible for a spot on a donor list.
Speaking to Daily Mail Online, Peg described how she was in a catch-22 – needing to lose weight while not putting too much stress on her failing heart and is now warning others to look for the subtle signs of heart disease this Heart Health Month.
Peg Ollinger, 57, lost 60 pounds in order to be placed on a transplant list to receive a new heart
An x-ray revealed that she had an enlarged heart in 2016 and the organ was declining
Peg and her husband Dave would go for walks and bicycle rides but she had developed a persistent cough and would get tired and winded easily
Peg began experiencing a persistent cough and swollen ankles in the summer of 2016 but thought she just had a bad cold.
She has been married to Dave, a musician, for 39 years and the couple would enjoy going for walks outside or at their favorite hardware store, biking and watching their nieces’ and nephews’ sporting events.
However, those hobbies began leaving Peg fatigued and out of breath along with the cough.
She visited a doctor twice and both times was treated for pneumonia until her symptoms continued through November.
It was then that she finally got an x-ray which revealed her heart was enlarged, leading Peg to see a cardiologist.
She underwent a stress test and an echo cardio exam but didn’t make it too far because of all the damage to the right side of her heart.
Doctors diagnosed Peg with cardiomyopathy, diseases of the heart muscles.
These diseases have many causes and as the condition worsens, heart muscles become weaker and less able to pump blood through the body.
Doctors are still unclear what caused Peg’s condition as the biopsy results were inconclusive, but they suspect it could have been a virus that attacked her heart.
Speaking to Dr Frank Downey, Peg’s surgeon, he said that Peg had a 50 percent chance of dying within a year.
‘In Peg’s case pressures were so high in the lungs and she was in end-stage heart failure. We tried her on all oral medications and still she still couldn’t do anything without experiencing symptoms,’ he added.
By Thanksgiving weekend Peg was undergoing surgery to have a pacemaker implanted.
A pacemaker uses electrical impulses to regulate the beating of the heart.
For five months the pacemaker was doing its job, however it acted as a bandage to her continually deteriorating heart.
By March of 2017, a routine check-up showed that Peg’s right chamber was not functioning properly and she would need help in the form of a heart pump or even a new heart altogether.
Then in May it was made clear that the only way she would survive would be to get a new heart.
‘Because of my age and overall general health I was a good candidate for a heart transplant but my BMI was too high,’ Peg said.
In order to be listed to receive a transplant you have to have a body mass index (BMI) of 35 or below.
Peg had a BMI of 41, meaning she had to lose about 60 pounds to qualify for a transplant.
Dr Downey said Peg had to be healthy enough for the new heart to survive.
‘I was put on short term disabilities at work and just wanted to focus on getting the weight off and pay attention to myself and body,’ Peg said.
With the help of dietitians at St Luke’s Hospital in Milwaukee, Peg was put on a strict 1200 calorie diet and exercise regimen.
Her salt and fluid intake were restricted to reduce the swelling in her ankles.
She could have no more than 2,000 milligrams of sodium a day and no more than two liters of liquids each day.
‘If you read labels you know a lot of our prepackaged foods exceeds that in one serving so it was a complete lifestyle change as far as not going out to eat and weighing food,’ Peg said.
She went to cardio therapy where she worked with a trainer three times a week to exercise just enough to not put too much stress on her heart.
‘Treadmill was all I could do – either that or the elliptical ,’ she said.
Peg was in a race against time as her heart health continued to decline as she hit a low-point in August.
Peg lost the weight by November of 2017 by going on a strict diet and exercising with specialists three times a week as to not over work her heart
She got the new heart days after Thanksgiving and is recovering well at her home in Wisconsin
In August of 2017 Peg’s cough got so bad that she couldn’t keep food down.
‘At that point I needed a VAD (ventricular assist device) pump to put inside my chest and help circulate the blood throughout my body,’ Peg said. ‘My heart was getting so weak that it couldn’t get blood to other organs.’
The right chamber of her heart completely shut down and Peg was put on a constant IV drip.
Though with all the wires, pumps and IVs, she continued to exercise and stick to her diet in a battle for her life.
Peg successfully lost the weight and brought her BMI low enough to be placed on the list for a heart transplant on November 4.
‘When they listed me I didn’t think I would be here for Christmas,’ Peg said. ‘Things had really deteriorated.’
Then on November 28, just days after Thanksgiving, she and Dave received the call.
‘We got the call at four in the afternoon telling me a heart had been matched and every emotion in the world went through me – from being very happy to extremely scared. But it was the best call I had in months,’ she said.
She and Dave went straight to the hospital that night and by 2am Peg was in the operating room.
Dr Downey said: ‘It was her second heart surgery in a matter of six month. We had to go in the same incision, taking out the mechanical pump and replacing the heart.
‘One surgeon goes out to get the heart while the other is starting the procedure and it has to be timed appropriately because we only want the heart out of the donor for four hours before it’s beating in the recipient.’
He added that it is a risky procedure and took them about six hours.
The surgery was the hospital’s 900th transplant and was a success.
Peg stayed in the hospital for three weeks before returning home in time for Christmas.
‘I feel like I have two birthdays – my actual birthday and my heart date,’ she said.
Now she continues to go to therapy and take anti-rejection medication for her heart while maintaining a healthy diet.
‘Thanks to my organ donor I have been given a whole new lease on life,’ Peg said. ‘It’s a lesson to listen to your body.’