Richard Hawkins - When Protein Origami Goes Wrong
When it comes to heart failure, Richard Hawkins, 68, of Riverside, California, has a tale to tell. And, unlike many heart failure (HF) stories, his ultimately has a happy ending. But only after he died more than once and started living with his third heart. Richard has an underdiagnosed cause of HF called amyloid transthyretin cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM).
For Richard, the first sign that something was wrong with his heart came at the gym in March 2012. “Just a few minutes into riding a recumbent bike, I was getting very, very faint,” Richard said. “It was coming on extremely slowly and since I could sense its arrival, I stabilized myself on the bike by putting my feet on the floor, my arms on the handlebars, and then I laid my head on my arms, and waited for the feeling to pass.” The feeling didn’t pass. Richard lost consciousness.
Read Richard’s full story in Heart Insight, our free digital magazine.
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