Woman to walk for American Heart Association

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LAKE COUNTY JOURNALS GURNEE - A local woman’s own heart-felt experience has driven her to help American Heart Association. At 32, Gurnee resident Brooke Lannert had already been trying to overcome heart-related complications for years.Then, on Nov. 29, 2007, she suffered a severe stroke. Grateful that she has been making a steady recovery, Lannert now plans to participate in the Chicago Metro Start! Heart Walk in Grant Park on Friday, Sept. 26. But she still remembers that morning in November 2007 when she wasn’t feeling good. And her husband, Daryl, planned to go into the office for a few hours, then return home to take her to the doctor. Daryl Lannert often felt anxious about leaving his wife, and said good-bye that morning to her their customary three times – then a fourth as he walked down the steps of their home to the door. But that day, Daryl Lannert inexplicably felt the need to turn around and say good-bye once more. Thinking in his head, “Why am I going back upstairs when I’ve already said good-bye four times?” he kept walking toward their bedroom, where he found his wife slumped over in bed. She was drooling and incapable of talking. He called 911. That night, doctors at Condell Medical Center removed a clot from Lannert's left carotid artery. In May 2008, Lannert successfully underwent an additional surgery, called the maze procedure, at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, and she has begun cardiac rehabilitation. The operation and following treatment is expected to finally cure her condition, called atrial fibrillation. It was a long journey to that maze procedure. Lannert was born three months premature, and underwent two open-heart surgeries within her first three months of life. As an adult, she underwent two more procedures in 2003 and in 2005, neither of which solved the problems. She altered her lifestyle with medications, diet, yoga and acupuncture, hoping to improve her heart health without the maze procedure, which doctors weren’t recommending because of her young age. By May 2008, the maze was her best option. As she slowly has resumed her everyday activities, such as gardening, walking with her dog, and returning to work in mid-August, Lannert has her eyes on another major goal: completing the three-mile Chicago Metro Start! Heart Walk. “This walk means a first step toward recovery for me and toward helping eradicate heart disease for all,” Lannert said. She hopes to help raise both funds and awareness about heart disease, which is the No. 1 killer of women. Want to help? Lannert is raising money for the American Heart Association through donations supporting her participation in the Start! Heart Walk. More information about the walk and how to donate can be found at www.heartwalk.kintera.org, under her team’s name, the Heart Beaters.