Tennis helped this Houston woman recover after her heart transplant. Now she’s going for the gold.
Venola Jolley, a Missouri City resident, began experiencing difficulty breathing and noticed her memory was failing. An avid runner, she found herself struggling to even walk.
“All of a sudden my feet were heavy,” she said. “My legs were heavy. I was void of energy. I knew something was not right.”
Her doctor recommended a heart specialist. She was diagnosed with coronary artery disease, which results from plaque build-up and is the most common heart disease. She was outfitted with a peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) line, which releases medications for a prolonged period of time.
“But that would only work for so long,” Jolley said.
Her doctor recommended she head to Memorial Hermann immediately, and she was referred to Dr. Biswajit Kar, professor and chief of the medical division at the Center for Advanced Heart Failure at UTHealth Houston Heart & Vascular and Memorial Hermann.
Kar confirmed that Jolley’s severe heart damage caused a lack of oxygen to her brain. He also explained that she needed a heart transplant.