OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — "I was feeling off," she recalls.
For Tracy Corwin, listening to her body might have saved her life. She's now using her experience to encourage and empower other women.
- According to the American Heart Association, cardiovascular disease is the number one killer of women. Corwin experienced a spontaneous coronary artery dissection, or SCAD.
- Instead of brushing off her physical discomfort, Corwin asked her family to take her to the hospital. "I think about that often. Like, what if I would've just went to sleep? Like, gone upstairs and went to bed? I don't know if I would be here," she said.
- Corwin is the 2025 featured survivor at Omaha's Go Red for Women. When she takes the stage at the event, she'll ask other women to prioritize their own health and well-being.
Continue reading for the broadcast transcript of this story.
Tracy Corwin has always been a girls' girl. She built a business for women.
"I do wigs and hair toppers and help boost their confidence when they've lost some hair," she explained.
Corwin has learned everyone has a story, and, that she could use hers to inspire.
It started with her first child, Tori Lynn.
"She was born with a severe heart defect. And at three months old, she went through open heart surgery three times. And we lost her when she was three-and-a-half months old," Corwin shared.
There was no family history of heart problems, and for Corwin herself, no underlying conditions.
"I was feeling off. I was stressed. I was working a lot. Working a very stressful job," she reflected of her own heart-related wake-up call.
From her studio, Corwin described what happened on September 17, 2022.
She'd asked her husband, David, to take her to the hospital along with one of her sons, Eli. He was in the room when doctors called for a crash cart.
"He was standing right there looking at me. And I said in my mind, 'Please don't let him see this,'" she prayed.
Corwin was actively having a heart attack - a spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD). So, not a clog, but a weak spot in her artery just tore. Corwin credits listening to her body as what kept her alive.
"I think about that often. Like, what if I would've just went to sleep? Like, gone upstairs and went to bed? I don't know if I would be here," she said.
Healing included cardiac rehab and counseling. Corwin's recovery also brought something else: She realized she doesn't need to say 'yes' to everything.
"I say 'no' to things that I don't feel are important to me anymore."
Prioritizing differently has freed up more time for family and friends.
Relationships, she said, are "what's important in life."
KMTV returns as a sponsor of Go Red for Women. To see if tickets to the 2025 event are available, click here.
The American Heart Association also encourages everyone to learn hands-only CPR. This short video has the basics.