Margaret Patteson
Nearly nine years after her heart attack, Margaret Patteson continues to move forward on her road to recovery.
“I just try to always see the positive,” she said. “I’ve learned to discover the joy in life. Not let the minutiae of life bring you down. Life is a gift. It’s precious and short.”
At 51, Patteson, a marathoner and avid cyclist, suffered a heart attack while on a remote group bike ride on Round Mountain Road in Bakersfield. She underwent two emergency stents procedures and a brief hospital stay.
Prior to her event, she was diagnosed with familial hypercholesterlemia, or genetic high cholesterol, putting her at greater risk for heart attack. Doctors prescribed statin therapy; a routine blood test just two months prior to her heart attack showed her cholesterol level at an acceptable level.
Her specific inherited condition is difficult to regulate with statin therapy alone.
“If it can happen to me, it could happen to anyone,” she said. “You
can’t judge a book by its cover. I was so healthy. I couldn’t believe I was a sitting duck.”
Although she’s no longer a marathon runner, Patteson maintains an active lifestyle with running 10 miles a week, cycling and a newfound activity — pickleball — which she plays with her husband of 36 years. Encouraged by her doctors, she’s embraced a plantbased diet, which her husband has also adopted.
“My motivation was to never go through that or put my family through that ever again,” she said.
Her new regimen also includes several daily medications: a high-intensity statin, two blood pressure pills and aspirin. Patteson passed a nuclear stress test a few months ago with flying colors. She credits her determination to live a healthy lifestyle and maintaining a positive attitude to her recovery.
“I want to keep living a long, healthy life. I told myself, ‘Underneath all of this, you are healthy. You will recover.’ I kept hanging onto this. I felt it when I turned the corner and felt better,” she said.
Her job as a pharmaceutical sales representative for Novartis has her working with cardiologists throughout California. Despite a busy work schedule, Patteson makes sure she checks in with herself on a regular basis.
“It’s so important to take care of yourself, and realize where I am in my day,” she said. “I trained myself not to brush anything off.”
Now, nine years after her heart attack, she’s gained perspective on her health — and her outlook on life.
“There is a life after. The further I’ve gotten away from the actual event, I’m not so afraid. I’m mentally better,” she said. “Move on and move forward.”