A mysterious fall was the first sign that something was wrong

What felt like a push brought her to her knees. It wasn't until a year later that an ultrasound revealed the cause - and rushed her to surgery. one year old woman lying in front of the sink. The woman stood up, her hair wrapped in a fluffy towel, but at the first step she stumbled. She smiled, a little embarrassed, and looked behind her. Did someone push her? As she reached the door to the room of mirrors and styling chairs, the woman felt a push again. This time it sent her against the door and she fell to her knees. The hairdresser grabbed her arm and stabilized her. "You OK?" she asked, helping the woman up. "I suppose so," replied the older woman. But she hadn't been, for those two brief moments.

On the way back to her home near Pittsburgh, the woman worried about what had happened. She had never felt anything like this before. A few weeks later, during her annual medical check-up, she attempted to describe the experience to her GP, Rajiv Jana. He didn't know what to think about it either. But he didn't seem worried once he realized it hadn't happened since then. "Do you think I had a stroke?" she asked insistently. He asked again, "Did you feel completely fine afterwards?" No weaknesses anywhere? "Very well," she replied. "I still feel good. I work in my garden and ride my bike every day. Nothing has changed." "So I don't think it was a stroke," Jana reassured her. "Let me know if it happens again."

It didn't happen again, and eventually she stopped worrying. She didn't return to Jana's office for a year, and when she did, it was for a leg infection she contracted while gardening. She had taken antibiotics, and it was healing well. "Nothing else?" asked the doctor after examining his leg. There was another thing: she had pain in her left side. She wasn't sure what it was, but it didn't sound like muscle strain. It started a few months ago. Did he think she needed an x-ray?

Jana shook her head. "I don't think an x-ray tells us anything. Let's do an ultrasound instead,” he suggested.

Two days later, the woman was lying on an exam table, her bare abdomen covered in the gel clear and cool as the sonographer spread to help the probe see through the skin in her belly and chest. She had already had an ultrasound, and it seemed to take a long time. Finally, she had to ask: Did the technician see anything wrong? The woman wielding the probe shook her head; the radiologist should read the scan. But, she added, the patient should check her chart when she gets home. The whole encounter seemed strange and a little disturbing.

A recommendation from a friend

The patient was still on the road when her phone rang. "Are you at home?" asked the familiar voice of Rajiv Jana. "I'm still driving, but tell me anyway," she said a little impatiently. What did the scan show? Silence fills the car. Eventually he said, "The scan shows there might be something in your heart," a mass in one of the chambers of the heart. Maybe it was a blood clot. Maybe it was a tumor. Either way, she needed a cardiologist and a CT scan. He would let her know when the test was due.

The disturbing news was still visible on her face at a funeral she attended over the weekend. A friend, Sandi, immediately saw that something was wrong. "I think I need a cardiologist," the worried woman told him. She briefly explained what her doctor had said. Sandi knew a great cardiologist, she told her friend: Dr. Ricci Minella. He saved her husband's life after his heart attack. Thank you, the woman replied gratefully. I'll call her on Monday.

That was a call she didn't have to make. That evening, just before dinner, her cell phone rang. It was Minelle. He introduced himself and got straight to the point. This lump in your heart needs to be assessed, he said. It could be a serious problem. Come to the University of Pittsburgh Shadyside Medical Center first thing Monday morning - 7 a.m. - and we'll find a solution.