According to the American Heart Association (AHA), cardiovascular disease is the leading killer of new moms. This significantly impacts Black women, who are three to four times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While the statistics sound stark, there is hope.
For Marian Dancy, that hope started with taking charge of her own health.
In 2019, at 35 years old and six months postpartum with her fourth child, Dancy began experiencing symptoms that were initially easy to dismiss—fatigue, swelling, and intermittent eye issues.
As a busy working mom, she pushed through, attributing her symptoms to the demands of her lifestyle.
“I didn’t think it was a huge issue…and I just kind of went on with my life,” Dancy shares.
As her symptoms worsened to the point where she experienced vision loss, Dancy decided to seek medical attention.
Despite multiple visits to different doctors, she was initially dismissed with no clear diagnosis.
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“I heard [you’re] young, you’re healthy. That’s really all I got from my appointment. There were no answers. I kept going but I was like OK I’m not feeling better than before so I scheduled another appointment to the doctor,” Dancy adds. “Again, I heard ‘Hey there’s nothing in your history. It might be a little virus going around. Let’s just keep an eye on it.’”
As Dancy’s condition became unbearable, she decided to go to the emergency room. Again, she was met with challenges.
“I received a misdiagnosis of pneumonia so I began treating myself… After that, I had a severe decline…I felt like I was dying,” Dancy says.
Determined to find the answers she sought, the busy mom decided to take a sick day from work and use her
