'Super fit and healthy' beauty queen who suffered SIX heart attacks in two years shares hidden symptoms

WHEN Jude Mabone suffered a staggering six heart attacks, she knew that if she survived, she wanted to realize her dream.

And last June, she made that dream of becoming a beauty queen come true when she was crowned Miss District of Columbia 2023.

8

8

It was an incredibly proud moment for Jude, now 28, after facing death so many times.

She had promised herself that if she died, she would live a wonderful life for the rest of her time.

And on her bucket list was being a pageant queen.

“When I had my first few heart attacks, I was ashamed of the stigma associated with it,” says Jude, who Washington DC, USA.

“Heart disease is often linked to an unhealthy lifestyle, such as smoking or drinking, and I didn't do that.

“I was very fit and loved cross-country running.

“I was so ashamed that for a while I didn't tell anyone around me what was happening to me because I thought it would be seen as if I had done something wrong to cause me to have these heart attacks.

“When I stood on stage after being crowned Miss America, it was an extremely proud moment.

“And talking about heart attacks during the competition was very healing for me.

“I know now that it's nothing to be ashamed of.”

Jude was a super fit 16-year-old who was running when she first started having trouble heart attack in July 2012.

“I was in great shape,” she said.

“I started with a six-mile run and after five miles I suddenly started having chest pains.

“I thought it was because it was very hot and I hadn't drank enough water, but as I continued it became more and more serious.

“I had pain in my shoulder and also felt nauseous and dizzy.

“I was near my high school when I dropped out and my mom called and she took me to the nearest hospital.”

The doctors ran tests and told her she had contracted a disease heart attack.

Jude, who has a boyfriend called Royce, 28, said: “I couldn't believe it.

“I knew I had all the classic signs of a heart attack, but I couldn't understand why I was having one when I was a young and fit 16-year-old.”

Over the next two years, Jude suffered five more heart attacks.

I thought that if I was at the end of my life, I should make the best of it

Judas Mabone

Initially doctors were baffled as to what caused it, but then they discovered she was suffering from coronary vasospasm (CAS) – when the heart's arteries suddenly contract, causing spasms that can trigger a heart attack.

They told her it was caused excercisewhich was devastating to her, as she had always loved run.

“My heart attacks were all triggered when I was running, so I had to stop for a while while the doctors controlled it with medication,” Jude said.

She has now learned to live with her condition and manage it with beta blockers, and she can run again.

She says she is now actually in better physical condition than before.

After her heart attacks, she started a bucket list that included visiting every state in America and every continent, plus learning to sail and ride horses.

At the top of her list was becoming a beauty queen.

She said: “I thought if I was at the end of my life, I should make the most of it.”

She entered the beauty pageant seven times, but failed to win, coming first several times.

Then the age limit for the competition was raised and she decided to give it another try in June last year.

And this time, she managed to take the crown as Miss District of Columbia 2023.

She said: “It was such an exciting moment. And I see this opportunity to really change the way people look at heart disease.

'It kills more people than cancer, but it only receives a small percentage of funding.

“I hope that as Miss America I can help improve heart health.”

8

8

8

8

8

8