A ticking time bomb

Meyer, an accomplished musician had always prioritized her health. An active vegetarian, Meyer maintained low cholesterol and blood pressure, often opting to walk seven flights of stairs instead of taking an elevator.

When Meyer developed a dry cough in early 2023, she assumed it was temporary. Months later, after multiple inconclusive doctor visits, Meyer continued coughing — sometimes so severely that it left her doubled over.

Doctors proposed different diagnoses, from asthma to acid reflux, prescribing inhalers, steroids, statins, and acid-reducing medication, but nothing worked.

It wasn't until Megan Kamath, a cardiologist at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), who had recently enrolled her daughter in Meyer's violin lessons, observed that Meyer coughed when walking but not while sitting that she became alarmed.

Talking to Meyer, Kamath learned her cough had lasted 16 months so far and that she had an appointment with a cardiologist at UCLA the next month. However, Kamath told Meyer that she thought her cough needed to be looked at sooner and would see if she could get her an appointment sooner.

After Kamath got a colleague to see Meyer sooner, the cardiologist ordered a stress echocardiogram, which returned abnormal results. In the middle of a lesson, the cardiologist told her to start taking baby aspirin and double the dose of her statin medication. A CT coronary angiogram, a test that allows for detailed images of the coronary arteries, was also scheduled.

The angiogram soon revealed a potentially life-threatening blockage in Meyer's left anterior descending artery (LAD). A severe blockage of the LAD can lead to what is known as a "widowmaker" heart attack, named so because of its high fatality rate. Outside of a hospital or another healthcare facility, a widowmaker only has around a 12% survival rate.

"Constance was a ticking time bomb," Kamath said. "She could have just dropped dead suddenly."

A life-saving procedure

Meyer underwent an angioplasty in September 2024, where doctors inserted a stent to open the artery. Hours later, something astonishing happened: her cough disappeared entirely.

According to Meyer, she was rattled by her experience trying to get her cough diagnosed, especially since she didn't know she had a risk for heart disease — something she believed was a male problem. Meyer is also now trying to be more assertive in her medical encounters, especially since her unquestioning acceptance of her doctors' initial diagnoses may have delayed her treatment.

"I think she minimized things," Kamath said. "I try to encourage patients to be proactive about their care, and I emphasized this to Constance."