Doctors help local woman with rare condition deliver healthy twins

PITTSBURGH — A rare condition made pregnancy the second time around very risky for a Pittsburgh mom.

Jene Myers was diagnosed with a rare condition called peripartum cardiomyopathy. This occurs when the heart muscle becomes very weak at the end of pregnancy or just after giving birth.

The Garfield woman was diagnosed in 2009, when she had her twins Brian and Braycen. Her heart was only pumping at 20% capacity, so she had a pacemaker put in.

Fast forward 10 years to when Jene got pregnant again. Much to her surprise, “I looked up at the screen and I said, ‘you are not serious,’” as she saw two heartbeats instead of one.

Being pregnant with twins again meant the stakes were higher for Jene. The mortality rate for women with her heart condition while pregnant with twins is 50%.

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“I didn’t want to die behind them, but I have so much faith in God, if He didn’t want this to happen, He wouldn’t have made this happen,” said Jene.

“She came with that determination and there wasn’t much room for discussion. She knew what she wanted, and she wanted our help getting through it.”, said cardiologist Anita Radhakrishnan.

Dr. Radhakrishnan was one of several Allegheny Health Network doctors who took a team approach to keeping Jene and her babies healthy. The cardiologist decided Jene’s heart might not be able to handle the pregnancy for longer than 34 weeks.

On Oct. 16, 2019, Jene welcomed her two new loves, Brielle and Bentley, into the world.

She’s very thankful to all the doctors who helped her get where she is today.

“You take chances every day. Either you’re going to live your life scared or you’re going to just live your life,” said Jene. “I chose to live my life. And look what life got me.”

Jene’s heart condition is irreversible, so she’ll always need to be monitored; but doctors said as long as she takes care of herself, she should be fine.

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