DAYTON, Ohio — COVID-19 symptoms are getting confused with more serious heart problems, a Dayton-area doctor said.
For one woman, it was almost too late by the time doctors caught it, and now they’re sending a warning to others.
Alicia Starks’s symptoms started when she was out of breath doing errands.
“I was extremely tired. I had no energy at all,” said Starks.
She knew something was wrong, but she didn’t know what was causing it.
“I actually thought I had COVID,” said Starks. “One of my children’s friends had COVID, and I thought I got it from them.”
She said her COVID tests were negative, but her breathing got worse and she was rushed to the hospital.
“They thought I had some type of lung, upper respiratory infection,” said Starks, “and so I was getting kinda frustrated because after a couple months seeing a lung doctor, nothing was working.”
Whatever was happening to her forced her back to the hospital after those couple of months.
This time, her heart was shutting down.
“I couldn’t believe it because the first thing they said to me was ‘you’re in heart failure,’” said Starks.
That’s when Dr. Robert Bulow and his team of cardiologists at Miami Valley Hospital stepped in.
“Early in her hospitalization, the non-invasive testing verified that she had a very weak heart,” said Bulow.
They diagnosed her with an enlarged heart condition. It’s something Bulow says often gets confused with COVID or other infections.
“Shortness of breath, discomfort, back pain, abdominal discomfort can be easily attributed to something other than the heart,” said Bulow.
He says if they hadn’t caught that it was something more serious, Starks wouldn’t have had much time left.
“I think within a three-month period of time, something very bad would’ve happened,” said Bulow.
“It’s unreal to know how close I was,” said Starks.
About a year later, with the right diagnosis, the help of a defibrillator, and medication, now she can live.
“Now the strength of her heart muscles comes up to the lower limits of normal, that’s a small miracle,” said Bulow.
“It’s hard for me to hear that, but I’m glad I’m a miracle,” said Starks.
Doctors say you can prevent this from happening to you by getting regular check-ups with your doctor.
