Oklahoma City survivor turns two heart attacks into a warning for women
Heart disease ran through Jane Krizer’s family long before it became her own diagnosis. By age 55, the Oklahoma City resident had already lived through one heart attack. Years later, while recovering in a hospital from unrelated surgery, she suffered a second one.
Her experience now sits at the center of this year’s Oklahoma City Go Red for Women luncheon, where she will be recognized as a featured survivor. The event is designed to raise awareness about cardiovascular disease, which remains the leading cause of death among women. For Krizer, the message is not abstract. It is a record of family history, symptoms that were easy to dismiss, and a second chance that depended on rapid treatment.
What she first thought was simple exhaustion turned out to be something far more dangerous. Her symptoms included extreme fatigue, nausea, sweating and upper back pain. Those signs were followed by placement of two stents in her right coronary artery, a procedure that restored blood flow after her first heart attack and pushed her toward lasting lifestyle changes.
Family history and the danger of underestimating symptoms
Krizer’s family history reads like a timeline of inherited risk. Her grandfather died from a heart attack. Her uncle had a heart attack at 55, the same age she was when her own cardiac event occurred. Her mother later underwent quadruple bypass surgery. For clinicians, that pattern is a clear reminder that family history is not a footnote in cardiovascular care; it is often one of the first clues that aggressive risk-factor screening is needed.
Women frequently experience heart attack symptoms that do not match the dramatic chest-crushing image many people expect. Fatigue, nausea, sweating, and discomfort in the back or jaw can be the first warning signs. In Krizer’s case, those symptoms were initially easy to misread, which is part of the danger. Delay in recognizing evolving ischemia can cost heart muscle, especially when symptoms are vague or appear during daily life rather than in an emergency setting.
Her advice is direct. She wants women with a family history of heart disease to have their blood pressure and cholesterol checked and to involve a cardiologist early. The recommendation is simple, but the logic behind it is clinically powerful. Elevated blood pressure and abnormal cholesterol are modifiable drivers of atherosclerotic disease, and they often progress quietly for years before the first event.
A second heart attack during recovery changed the course again
For 25 years after her first heart attack, Krizer remained healthy. Then, in 2022, while hospitalized for an unrelated surgery, she suffered another heart attack. Doctors placed four additional stents, expanding the intervention from one coronary territory to a more complex pattern of disease requiring repeat revascularization.
The second event adds a sobering layer to her story. Heart disease does not disappear after an initial procedure, and prior recovery does not erase future risk. For some patients, the period after a noncardiac surgery can be physiologically stressful, with changes in inflammation, hemodynamics, and medication routines potentially revealing underlying coronary vulnerability. Krizer’s case reflects how quickly cardiac risk can reappear when the body is under stress.
A six-month course of cardiac rehabilitation helped her regain strength after the second event. Cardiac rehab remains one of the most practical tools in post-event recovery because it combines monitored exercise, education, and risk reduction in a structured setting. Her return to health did not happen by accident; it came through ongoing care after the stenting procedure and a sustained effort to take her heart health seriously.
Why the message matters for women’s cardiovascular care
The American Heart Association continues to frame women’s heart health as a public health priority, and the Go Red for Women initiative has become a prominent vehicle for that message. In Oklahoma City, the campaign is being led by Shandy Belford, president and CEO of Arvest Bank’s central Oklahoma market, who is serving as volunteer chair. The local event is sponsored nationally by CVS Health and presented locally by OU Health, with additional support from Arvest Bank and Gardner Tanenbaum.
The public-health argument behind these events is straightforward. Too many women delay care because they are caring for everyone else, or because they do not recognize that their own symptoms may be cardiac. Krizer’s story puts a face on that gap. It also shows why education about symptoms cannot stop at chest pain alone. Nausea, sweating, upper back pain and overwhelming fatigue can all signal a heart attack, particularly when they appear together or occur in someone with strong family history.
Women also benefit from earlier conversations about risk before an emergency occurs. Blood pressure checks, lipid testing and timely cardiology follow-up can identify risk long before an artery closes. Family history should prompt more than vague concern; it should trigger action.
Krizer’s own words are blunt for a reason. “If your family has heart disease in its history, don’t ignore it,” she said. “Have your blood pressure and cholesterol checked with a cardiologist.” She also urged women not to wait until a heart attack happens before paying attention to heart health.
The message is sharper because it comes from someone who has lived both the warning signs and the consequences. Her first heart attack taught her to change her habits. Her second one reinforced the point that vigilance has to continue long after the first stent is placed. For women with a family history of heart disease, the lesson is practical and immediate: symptoms deserve attention, risk factors deserve measurement, and cardiac care should start before the next emergency forces the issue.