MSNBC anchor Yasmin Vossoughian recently shared a highly personal and cautionary tale about a health ordeal that turned her January into a “nightmare.” Seemingly harmless chest pains eventually led to hospitalization, an inflamed heart, and she is now sending a powerful message to women everywhere.
Her experience underscores the importance of trusting your instincts and prioritizing your physical health, even under the pressure of a demanding career.Vossoughian’s experience serves as a stark reminder that serious health problems can arrive unannounced, even for those who believe they follow a healthy lifestyle.
The health scare began around December 20, 2022, when Vossoughian noticed he was experiencing intermittent chest pains. As someone who maintains an active and healthy lifestyle, running seven miles multiple times a week, practicing yoga, and not eating meat or smoking, she initially had a hard time understanding the cause of this discomfort.
Despite her healthy habits, she admitted to not getting enough sleep and working too much, factors that later made her realize may have played a role in her body’s response.
Over the next ten days, the chest pains continued, waxing and waning, but eventually getting worse. Realizing that something was really wrong, the 44-year-old journalist decided to seek medical attention.
On December 30, she went to an urgent care facility, hoping to explain her worsening symptoms. However, the initial evaluation she received provided a seemingly benign diagnosis: acid reflux.
Vossoughian recounts the misdiagnosis, saying she was told she had GERD. While a part of her was relieved that it wasn’t a heart problem, she admits she “didn’t quite believe it.” She felt her body was sending different signals.
In a later interview with Insider, Vossoughian recalled that moment, expressing frustration at the misdiagnosis but also some remorse. Intuitively, she knew she should have insisted on having her heart checked immediately at the emergency room visit.
She had a mental block that a part of her wanted a less serious diagnosis. She confessed, “There’s a part of me that wants that diagnosis because I don’t want to be told it’s my heart that’s wrong. Because that’s scary.”
This unwillingness to confront the possibility of serious heart problems, coupled with the initial misdiagnosis, prevented her from detecting serious problems during her precious time.
This experience resonates with a broader issue that is often emphasized in the healthcare field: pain in women, especially pain related to heart problems, is often overlooked by medical professionals.
Studies and reports cited in the New York Times and other media outlets have shown that women tend to wait longer for a diagnosis of heart disease compared to men. Additionally, studies have shown that young women are twice as likely as young men to receive a mental health diagnosis when they have symptoms that may indicate heart disease.
This alarming disparity highlights the importance of patients (especially women) advocating for themselves and being prepared in the healthcare system.
The consequences of the misdiagnosis became shockingly obvious the next day. On New Year’s Eve, Vossoughian was awakened by severe pain in her chest and left shoulder. The pain intensified and there was a tightening sensation, especially when she tried to take deep breaths. The pain intensified when lying flat on her back, which was a specific feature of the discomfort she noticed she was now feeling.
Shocked by the severity of the symptoms and fearing she might have a heart attack, Vossoughian’s husband immediately drove her to the emergency room. This marked the beginning of what she described as a “nightmarish January.”
After arriving at the ER and being fully evaluated, Vossoughian was eventually given the correct and serious diagnosis: pericarditis. Pericarditis is inflammation of the pericardium, the thin sac-like tissue that wraps around and protects the heart. According to the American Heart Association, pericarditis can present with pain similar to the symptoms of a heart attack, so an accurate diagnosis is critical.
Vossoughian’s inflammation was very severe. Doctors also found fluid around her heart. If left untreated, the fluid could prevent the heart from pumping effectively. Therefore, it was necessary to take medical measures to drain the excess fluid.
Due to the severity of her condition, she required hospitalization.Vossoughian was initially hospitalized for four nights for treatment and monitoring. She was eventually transferred from a local hospital to NYU Langone in New York City, indicating her need for specialized care.
She was discharged from the hospital on Jan. 4, with the hope that her condition would improve and she would be on the road to recovery. However, her health ordeal is far from over, and soon she will face another setback.
Only three days after being discharged from the hospital, Vossoughian developed a new and worrisome symptom: a fluttering sensation in her chest. She vividly described the sensation, comparing it to having a butterfly in her chest, which clearly indicated that her heart was not functioning properly.
This led to her readmission to the hospital. Further evaluation yielded a second, related diagnosis: myocarditis. This disease involves inflammation of the heart muscle itself.
According to the American Heart Association, myocarditis weakens the heart muscle, negatively affecting its vital function of pumping blood throughout the body. Inflammation can also lead to arrhythmia or a rapid heartbeat, which is why Vosofian felt palpitations.
During the five days of her second hospitalization, doctors struggled to understand the underlying cause of the inflammation. They eventually determined that the widespread inflammation in and around her heart was a consequence of her infection with a cold virus.
Dr. Gregory Katz, a cardiologist at NYU Langone, emphasized this point. He explained that it is not usually the cold virus itself that attacks the heart, but rather the body’s immune system that overreacts to the virus.
For most people, the immune system effectively clears viruses such as colds and flu within a few days, resulting in standard symptoms such as a runny nose or sore throat resolving on their own. However, Dr. Katz notes that for a small percentage of people, the immune system will respond with an exaggerated or overactive response. This can lead to inflammation in various parts of the body, including the heart.
He emphasized that this overactive immune response to the virus is very difficult to predict. It is not limited to a specific group of people or health conditions and “can happen to anyone.”
Dr. Katz also mentioned that autoimmune diseases may be another cause of this inflammation. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is actively monitoring reports of myocarditis and pericarditis and has noted rare cases following mRNA COVID-19 vaccination, occurring primarily in adolescents and young males within a week of the second dose of vaccine.
Cardiomyopathy does not always show obvious symptoms. However, when they do, potential warning signs include fatigue, shortness of breath, chest pain, and a rapid heartbeat.
Both experts strongly recommend keeping an eye out for something fundamentally wrong. This could manifest as a fever, chills, or just a persistent feeling that something is wrong with your body but you can’t pinpoint it.
Dr. Katz’s key advice is straightforward: “It’s really, really important to listen to your body and pay attention to what it’s telling you.”
Dr. Katz recommends taking common precautions against viral infections. These include washing your hands frequently, avoiding touching your face, and staying home when you’re sick to prevent the spread of the disease.
Vossoughian shared that she is currently recovering and will need to take medication for a while as she continues to recover. She believes that this challenging health experience was not only a personal test, but more importantly, a valuable “teaching moment” for herself and others.
May her experience encourage countless others to stop, assess their health, and not hesitate to seek help and advocate for themselves when their body signals that something is not right. Your health is, indeed, the most important thing.
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An MSNBC anchor was told she had acid reflux. The next day she was rushed to the hospital to have fluid drained from around her heart.
MSNBC Anchor Reveals Common Cold Led To Inflammation Of Her Heart
