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Tanya Chapman Griffin was coughing so often that she bought jumbo bags of extra-strong menthol cough drops to quell the nearly constant tickle in her throat.

“It must be that Saharan dust storm,” Tanya would tell people, referring to the massive dust plume that travels across the Atlantic to the Caribbean and the southern United States each year, including her town of Prairieville, Louisiana.

While Tanya’s suggestion seemed plausible, nobody else she knew was coughing. She also had a constant low-grade fever.

Tanya, then 38, also felt unusually tired. There was a plausible explanation for that, too.

A mother of girls aged 4 and 6, she also worked with students as a prevention educator in the local school system. Plus, she taught Zumba dance fitness classes several times a week.

Although Tanya stood 5 feet, 10 inches and weighed around 315 pounds, she never had trouble handling her Zumba routines. Now, though, she found herself struggling to breathe during classes.

Multiple visits to a pulmonologist, a lung specialist, brought no answers. Her blood test results were fine and X-rays were clear. That good news was muted by the fact she knew something else had to be at the root of her problems.

As her symptoms intensified, Tanya felt she wasn’t getting the medical attention she deserved. She thought she was being dismissed as “just another overweight woman.”

During this time, she led a dance demo that was broadcast live on local television to promote a family fitness event. For the taping, she reduced her normal set length from five dances to three. Still, Tanya pushed through, praying she wouldn’t pass out on live TV and in front of the community. To the public, she looked fine; to her husband, Ontario, and to class participants, her health clearly was getting worse.

A few days later, Tanya dreamed she was about to die. Terrified, she insisted on seeing another pulmonologist.

The new doctor ordered a test she’d yet to have: a CT scan with contrast, which would give a clearer look at her blood vessels. As soon as it was completed, hospital staff rushed in with a wheelchair and admitted Tanya to the hospital.

Doctors told her she had 12 pulmonary embolisms.

A pulmonary embolism is a blockage in a blood vessel that carries blood to the lungs. It usually happens when a blood clot breaks loose and travels through the bloodstream to the lungs. Most people with an embolism make a full recovery, but without treatment it can be fatal.

Doctors used blood thinners and “clot busters” to treat Tanya. After five days, she was sent home, with orders to rebuild her lung capacity and to keep moving. She was also diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension, a progressive condition characterized by high blood pressure in the blood vessels leading to the lungs. It can be managed with medication.

“Physically, I felt I would be OK with medication,” she said. “But emotionally, I was in shock.”

About six months later, she was thrilled to return to teaching Zumba.

“Moving always makes me happy,” she said. “Anytime, every time something happens to me, I have to keep moving.”

Tanya and Ontario began eating a more heart-healthy diet. They cut down on fast food and some rich Southern dishes like pork chops smothered with gravy and rice. Tanya lost some weight but then gained it back.

In 2022, Tanya unexpectedly became pregnant – with twins. Doctors feared a recurrence of embolisms. She later had a miscarriage but did not have any embolisms.

“The grief was unbearable,” she said. “It reinforced how I need to stay vigilant about maintaining my health, mentally and physically.”

Since 2022, Tanya has lost over 60 pounds. In 2024, Tanya was nominated as an ·¬ÇÑÊÓƵ to help raise funds and awareness about cardiovascular disease. She especially wants women to know that it remains the No. 1 killer and that they must advocate for themselves.

“Feeling as though you are not heard or cared about can stop you from going to – or going back to – a doctor’s office,” she said.

Through her work with the Association, Tanya recently learned about cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CKM) syndrome, a disorder based on connections among heart disease, kidney disease, diabetes and obesity.

In 2024, the Association launched the CKM Health Initiative to boost awareness education and treatment of the disorder.

“The CKM Health Initiative has shown me personally that so many parts of our bodies and our minds are interconnected,” she said. Because CKM syndrome is now defined, “I think we can help prevent it.”

That fueled her desire to educate even more women. Tanya spreads the word through her sorority, her colleagues, her Zumba family and the public. She recently took the stage in front of more than 3,000 seniors at a fitness expo.

“Tanya is a walking billboard for a healthy lifestyle,” Ontario said. “People see her and they get encouraged. She’s a plus-size lady and she’s beautiful and she’s full of life, and she really knows how to move. She makes it fun for everybody.”

Tanya’s story is a reminder that when we understand how the heart, kidneys and metabolism work together, we can move from uncertainty to informed action. Learning about CKM syndrome can be a first step toward recognizing risk earlier and advocating for more connected care.

Stories From the Heart chronicles the inspiring journeys of heart disease and stroke survivors, caregivers and advocates.