She was relieved to later find out she had small artery issues that weren’t extensive enough to require open-heart surgery.

“I was thrilled to find out I didn’t have to have open-heart surgery,” she said. “I felt like God gave me a break.”

Ikner remained at the Brookwood Medical Center for six days and had a pacemaker put in her chest in September 2011.

“I’m right at 6 months since the surgery now and I’m starting to feel a lot better,” she said.

After Ikner reflected back on her symptoms, she realized she had more than just one sign of heart disease.

“You go through this and they tell you the warning signs. I realized I had more than just shortness of breath. You just don’t realize it,” Ikner said. “I’m really lucky that I finally made the decision to go. I was trying everything to avoid it and trying to self-diagnose. I hate to think what would happen if I hadn’t gone to the doctor.”

According to the American Heart Association, heart disease is the number one killer of women nationwide. More than 433,000 women – an average of one every minute – die as a result of cardiovascular disease.

Ikner now takes heart, high blood pressure and cholesterol medications daily as preventative measures.

While she is done healing physically, Ikner is still making lifestyle changes as a result of her procedure.

“I had been in denial for so long. When something like this happens you make little adjustments you didn’t think about before,” Ikner said.

“I watch my salt intake more and I try to go to the gym more. And this is unsweet tea,” she added as she held up her glass. “When I walked into that emergency room I had a Coke bottle in my hand. You start looking at things like that.”