Chicago-area mom and daughter share rare heart surgery bond ahead of Mother's Day

Mom and daughter share rare heart surgery bond ahead of Mother's Day

Justine Felitto thought it was stress, but it turned out to be a life-threatening heart condition.

CHICAGO - Ahead of Mother's Day, a Chicago-area mom and daughter are sharing their story in hopes of encouraging others to take a proactive approach to their personal health.

The backstory:

One week before her 28th birthday, Justine Felitto received an unwelcome surprise – she needed open heart surgery, right away.

Originally from Winnetka, Justine was living in New York City and working in finance when she started feeling different, and more out of breath and tired than usual.

"I kind of just chalked it up to panic attacks, anxiety, lack of sleep," said Justine. "I didn’t really think I needed to get anything looked at. I just sort of thought that this was how my body was reacting to my lifestyle."

Justine discovered she was suffering from mitral valve prolapse, which caused the blood in her heart to flow in the wrong direction.

"When the blood is going backwards instead of forwards, a lot of times people say, ‘I get tired, I must be getting older, I don’t have as much energy.’ But also, the blood goes into the lungs so they can be very short of breath," said Dr. Patrick McCarthy, executive director of Northwestern Medicine Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute.

Doctors she initially saw in New York told her she could hold off on surgery for a few years. But, when Justine saw the surgeon at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago who did the same procedure on her mother, she found out she didn’t have much time.

"It was overwhelming. I knew at some point in my life I would need the surgery, but I thought I had a little bit more time," Justine said.

Her mother, Susan, was previously diagnosed with the same condition.

"I was just in for a routine physical and the internist said, ‘My goodness, you have one of the most distinct heart murmurs I’ve ever heard. I’m sure you’ve been told that,’ and I was like, ‘Nope,’" said Susan Felitto, Justine’s mother.

Dr. McCarthy says typically patients who need a mitral valve repair are in their 50s or 60s, making Justine’s case unique.

"Every once in a while, we will hear about someone who says a sister or uncle had had mitral valve prolapse as well. But this kind of combination between mom and daughter does not seem to be genetic. It seems more like bad luck," McCarthy said.

Having gone through the surgery herself, Susan was able to provide extra reassurance that her daughter would be OK.

"As I tried to comfort Justine with the shock of having surgery at 28 years old versus your mid-50s, I said, ‘You’re not only going to recover from this, you’re actually going to feel better,’" Susan said.

And mom was right. In March, Justine flew to Chicago for her surgery.

What's next:

The two are now looking forward to celebrating Mother's Day and a new bond of the heart.