Keeping Pace – For Nantucket resident Jasmine Cruz, Nantucket Cottage Hospital was the catalyst to her life-saving medical care.

Cruz, a 41-year-old professional fitness trainer, experienced a heart attack that quite easily could have ended her life. For Jasmine, the care she received at Nantucket Cottage Hospital was a game-changer in her road to recovery.

On February 10, 2023, after a routine but intense workout, Jasmine’s heart rate spiked to 220 on her Apple Watch. Although she was pain-free, Jasmine’s health background and intuition led her to seek medical care at Nantucket Cottage Hospital’s Emergency Department. The doctors and nurses performed CT scans and diagnostic tests to determine that Jasmine possibly had a tear in her left ventricular artery.

Due to the potential severity of her condition, she Jasmine Cruz was transported to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. While at Mass General, doctors confirmed that Jasmine did, in fact, have a heart attack. Known as SCAD – Sudden Coronary Artery Dissection – the condition most often affects healthy women between the ages of 40 – 60, who often have no risk factors for heart disease.

Thanks to the quick actions of the Nantucket Cottage Hospital emergency team, the specialists at Mass General Hospital, and the collaboration between the two hospitals, Jasmine is back on Nantucket continuing her road to recovery and resuming her active lifestyle.

“Thank you to NCH for, quite literally, saving my life. NCH’s dedication and compassion carried me through this experience, and I continue to lean on the Nantucket professionals to help me in my recovery.” – Jasmine Cruz

Photo: Georgie Morley Photography