Nadia Montenegro now stable after emergency heart procedure: 'Four minutes ako nawala'
Nadia Montenegro is now stable and recovering after she almost experienced a heart attack that needed an urgent heart procedure. It triggered a code blue hospital announcement as she had a three-minute seizure and was "gone" for four minutes.
"To everyone who prayed for my mom Nadia Montenegro thank you so much. She is now out of danger," her daughter Alynna Asistio-Carbonell said in a Facebook post on the afternoon of Nov. 20.
Carbonell said Montenegro came very close to having a heart attack last week due to her Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, a rare condition she had since birth. The syndrome causes an irregular heartbeat, even as those with it have an extra valve in their heart.
"Her condition worsened last week, making it necessary to perform an urgent heart procedure," Carbonell said of Montenegro.
Carbonell said the procedure took place on the morning of Nov. 20 and was successful.
"However, shortly after, she experienced a severe seizure lasting 2-3 minutes, which triggered a code blue in the hospital," she said. Code blue means a patient is in critical condition, typically due to cardiac or respiratory arrest.
"Thankfully, she is now stable and recovering," she added.
According to Montenegro, she informed close friends in a group chat on Nov. 18 that she was confined in a Quezon City hospital after she had suffered a heart attack on Nov. 15 while in Batangas.
She also told the group chat members about her Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome.
"Tuloy heart surgery ko anytime. Just wanted you all to know," Montenegro is quoted as saying. "Napaaga lang pagod nya hehe. Will do the procedure na para may peace of mind ako. Next attack can be fatal."
Later on, Montenegro told her friends that she would be transferred to a hospital in Bonifacio Global City.
She would undergo ablation, a procedure that uses heat or cold energy to create tiny scars in the heart. The scars block faulty heart signals and restore a typical heartbeat.
"They will pass the catheters through my groin up to my heart. I need to be awake. 4-5 hours procedure," Montenegro said. "Wala pang update if 9 a.m. or 2 p.m. 4-5 hours to get to my heart pero 10-30 minutes lang Ablation procedure."
When she was already okay, she updated the group chat, "I made it."
"Although nag-code blue kanina, four miniutes ako nawala. God is good," she added.
In several Instagram Story entries on Nov. 22, Montenegro shared photos of visits from her friends and family, including daughter Ynna Asistio, actress Yassi Pressman, event designer Ginger Gaddi, her Philippine Navy reservist course instructor Sen. Robin Padilla, actress Lotlot De Leon, and actor Chuckie Dreyfus.
Montenegro also shared a first-person video in the hospital hall set to Skylar Grey's Coming Home as the lyrics, "Tell the world I'm coming home," flashed on the screen.