Fighting to be heard
Esra Gunyel on how her young age and gender delayed her treatment for a heart condition
Fighting to be heard
'If I was older, I may have been taken more seriously'
Picture a person with a heart condition and an image of a middle-aged man will often spring to mind. This story shows that no matter your age, background or gender, heart conditions don’t follow the stereotype. And that speaking up for your health – particularly as a young woman – can make all the difference.
Esra Gunyel was undergoing a heart check in hospital following treatment for a health issue when the nurse noticed the 19-year-old’s heart was going berserk. Her heart rate was jumping way above normal.
Esra was immediately transferred to the hospital’s cardiology (heart) department to have an echocardiogram, a test which shows how the heart is working.
If any heart issue was discovered at the time of the test in 2021, Esra never found out. It would take a long time for her to learn that there was a problem and that her heart rate was hitting upwards of 235 beats per minute. A normal resting heart beats between 60 and 100 times per minute.
This episode set Esra on a medical journey that has had a profound effect on her life. It isolated her emotionally and physically. She was convinced something was wrong with her heart. She also believed her young age was working against her in having her voice heard.
By the time Esra received a diagnosis, the experience had already had a huge impact on her life
By the time Esra received a diagnosis, the experience had already had a huge impact on her life
“I think that being a young cultural woman may have been a factor and that it played its part in receiving no immediate care from medical professionals,” she explains.
“Given that I was 19 years old, I may have been seen as, ‘you’re too young to have a heart condition and therefore it’s not serious’. Whereas if I was older, I may have been taken more seriously.”
What’s more, compared to men, women are at a disadvantage when it comes to heart health care. Heart disease is traditionally seen as a men’s health issue and research shows that women don’t get the same level of care versus men.
It took another year of fighting to be heard, but Esra, now aged 22, was eventually diagnosed with a condition known as ‘mitral valve regurgitation’, a type of heart valve disease.
Heart valves are important parts of your heart, acting like doors which open and close to allow blood to flow through the vessels and heart chambers.
In mitral valve regurgitation, a particular heart valve does not fully close. It’s a condition that’s rare in people under 60, and has symptoms such as an irregular heartbeat, shortness of breath, fatigue and – as Esra experienced – a fast, fluttering heartbeat.
Treatment for the condition ranges from regular health check-ups to medication or surgery, depending on whether the condition is mild or severe.
The problem for Esra was that she was not told about her condition after it was discovered during that first echocardiogram. But she was concerned enough to ask her GP for a referral to a cardiologist (heart specialist). There was no reason for a referral, the GP insisted, because there was nothing wrong – serious or otherwise – with Esra’s heart. She told her this repeatedly, but Esra felt differently.
A diagnosis paid with anxiety
Finally, in late 2022 Esra got to see a heart specialist. He reviewed her records and told her that the echocardiogram she had undergone a year earlier in the hospital had revealed mitral valve regurgitation.
But by then, the whole experience had already had a huge impact on her life.
“It has caused me so much anxiety that even when I’m out on the street, I’m terrified that something will happen to me. Whenever I begin to experience chest pains, especially at night, I become so worried that I don’t want to go to sleep.”
Once a long-distance runner, Esra now avoids exercise because of a fear it will strain her heart. She has also put her university psychology course on hold while she deals with her health issues.
“I once read that the earlier you seek help, the closer you are to recovery,” she says.
“If the hospital and the GP had referred me to a cardiologist to undergo further tests and scans, I would at least have been on track in the earlier stages. It took me over a year to get a diagnosis and the doctors have just been playing catch-up”.
The lessons have been sobering. “If there is something I could say to other people, especially to women with heart conditions or valve disease, it is: Regardless of your age, ethnicity and gender, you deserve to get support from medical and mental health professionals. If you have a GP who doesn’t listen to you, then move to another one.
“If you suspect there’s something wrong with your health, listen to that instinct and trust it. Get a second opinion. No one should have to wait as long as me for a diagnosis.”
Esra now has a new GP and is pleased to be surrounded by a team of medical and mental health professionals helping her in her recovery.
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Words by Muriel Reddy. Illustrations by Tam Bower.
Published September 2024
This article is designed to be informative and educational. It is not intended to provide specific medical advice or replace advice from your medical practitioner.
Jean Hailes for Women’s Health gratefully acknowledges the support of the Australian Government.
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