When Leona Jeans was just 18 years old, she collapsed at work and went into cardiac arrest. After that frightening incident, she began seeing a cardiologist regularly, but her heart problems continued. She said all three of her pregnancies had complications and her heart got progressively worse.

"I didn't have energy to do anything with my kids," Leona said. "I couldn't go outside and play with them, walk with them or do anything without being at the point where I thought I was going to die."

Leona had an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) surgically implanted in her chest to monitor her heart rhythm and detect irregular heartbeats. An ICD is a small battery- powered device that can deliver electric shocks to fix an abnormal heart rhythm. She said she had the device for a few months before it began delivering shocks frequently, due to abnormal heart rhythms.

"The machine couldn't keep up with my heart," Leona said.

Leona was placed on the heart transplant list in the summer of 2020, and she received a new heart that October, at the age of 33. She said the surgery and recovery process has been an emotional experience but that her care teams at Ascension Saint Thomas Heart have been by her side every step of the way.

"I couldn't have asked for better nurses and a support team at the hospital," Leona said. "Had it not been for the doctors, nurses and care team, I don't think I would have made it through. They never once looked at me as if I was an inconvenience, and they were always right there."

Leona is getting accustomed to living with her new heart and says the transplant has given her a new perspective on life.

"I'm glad I went through with the heart transplant because if I hadn't, I wouldn't be here to see my kids today," Leona said. "I'm alive, and I couldn't ask for anything more."

Ascension Saint Thomas Heart is one of the most experienced cardiovascular medicine programs in the nation. As the largest heart failure program in the state, Ascension Saint Thomas Heart recently relaunched its heart transplant program and is now providing lifesaving heart care for Tennessee patients who need it most. From minimally invasive surgery, which may lead to shorter recovery time, to cutting-edge techniques for treating heart failure and programs designed specifically for women's heart health, the advanced care you need is close to home.

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