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Article: Living with Heart Failure
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- May 19, 1998
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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For J.L. Means, the moment of truth came in March as he dashed
across Atlanta's sprawling airport to catch a connecting flight to
Washington.
Over the previous few months, he had noticed fatigue and
shortness of breath catching up with him more often. Wheezing
sometimes interrupted his sleep. But it wasn't until he nearly
missed his flight in Atlanta that Means realized something was
seriously wrong. The hurried walk between terminals left him gasping
and exhausted -- even though he carried only a briefcase and stopped
midway to rest.
By the next week, when Means showed up at the cardiology
clinic at George Washington University Medical Center, "he could
barely walk across a room," ...