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<\/div>\nSofia Hart has irreversible dilated cardiomyopathy<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
A 30-year-old woman from Massachusetts, Sofia Hart, is living with a rare genetic heart condition that has left her without a pulse, and she describes herself as “running on batteries.” She has been diagnosed with irreversible dilated cardiomyopathy, a heart muscle disorder that affects one of the ventricles, potentially leading to heart failure. Sofia relies on a life-saving medical device called the LVAD (Left Ventricular Assist Device) to ensure her heart keeps beating as she awaits a heart transplant.<\/p>\n
A left ventricular assist device (LVAD) aids in maintaining blood circulation throughout the body by mechanically assisting the left side of the heart in pumping.<\/p>\n
According to The People magazine<\/em><\/a>, Ms Hart discovered she had the condition in the summer of 2022 while working at a horse farm.<\/p>\n She told People<\/em>, ‘I started getting really achy and so fatigued. It’s like a fatigue that you can’t really describe. I wasn’t tired in my brain, but my body was so tired.’<\/p>\n Although Hart’s twin sister Olivia was born with the same rare genetic mutation, it wasn’t discovered until Sofia also became ill.<\/p>\n Her sister had also suffered heart disease seven years prior, but genetics wasn’t among the factors considered until both of them were confirmed to suffer heart failure at a young age. Similarly, Olivia also had to get an LVAD device until her transplant in 2016.<\/p>\n Now, Sofia has to do the same and live with the device until she gets a transplant.<\/p>\n “I’m doing the work-up for it,” she tells People<\/em>. “I feel guilty having the option of finding my footing before jumping into a transplant. I came out of the gates hot and then realised, well, the device is doing well, I’m doing well on the device, transplant is such a huge, huge, huge deal that I wanted to learn more about life, transplant, live with “Janis”-the name I gave my LVAD-accept all that’s changed, and now I’m ready to go to transplant.”<\/p>\n Click for more trending news<\/a><\/div>\n