Baytown woman learns she was on the brink of death after she was turned away because multiple doctors misdiagnosed her

Melissa Sanchez said she had no idea she had heart problems when she started seeing doctors for the pain she felt in her jaw.

BAYTOWN, Texas. A Baytown resident shares her story after doctors told her she was hours away from a massive heart attack and death.

Retired English teacher Melissa Sanchez said she had no idea she had heart problems when she started seeing doctors for the pain she felt in her jaw.

Sanchez, 62, visited several doctors, but the pain persisted for several months.

“Eventually I went to an ear, nose and throat specialist. He diagnosed me with TMJ,” Sanchez said.

One day in October, the pain became unbearable and she went to the local emergency room.

“On that October day, the pain began to radiate to my chest and back,” she said.

They turned her down and told her that they thought it was an infection.

A few hours later she returned – and, thank God, she returned. The doctor told her that she could have died from a heart attack.

“You can have a heart attack and not even know it,” Sanchez said.

She was in the middle of one of them and was approaching death.

“If she delayed it any further, it would be a disaster,” Dr. Raghu Muppidi said.

Mappidy was an interventional cardiologist working in the emergency room at Baytown Methodist Hospital in Houston on the day Sanchez arrived.

They did an EKG and found the problem.

“This artery is on the brink of total destruction at this point,” Muppidi said.

Sanchez had a blockage of the main artery of the heart by almost 90%.

“It was that left main artery that is called the widowmaker,” Mappidy said.

Within an hour, doctors imposed restrictions and saved her life.

“I had no idea. I thought my heart was fine,” Sanchez said. “Many people think that if you have a heart attack, you will clutch your chest, fall down and pass out, and that will be in a dramatic way, and this may be true sometimes, but not always.”

After this incident, Sanchez changed her life. She lost 50 pounds and quit smoking.

“I smoked for 47 years,” Sanchez said.

She hopes her story will inspire others to pay more attention to their health and heart.

“Whatever is saved, please check it out. Ask your doctor questions and raise your heart if they don’t,” she said.

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