2026 Go Red for Women Class of Survivors: Beth Opel
Beth Opel’s knowledge of her family history of heart disease helped save her life. During a road trip with her sister, she started having a heart attack. After recognizing her symptoms, they raced to the nearest hospital where Beth received a stent. Now 66, Beth prioritizes heart health and enjoys life to the fullest.
Beth Opel started having subtle yet worrisome symptoms after a fun weekend in Las Vegas in 2022.
“It wasn’t the traditional clutch-your-heart kind of thing at all,” said Beth, who was 62 at the time. “It was just that I couldn’t get comfortable.”
Pressure in her neck, chest and back started to intensify during her car ride home to Utah that weekend. Reminders of her own family’s history of heart disease nagged her to take the symptoms seriously.
“Since my mother and brother had both had heart attacks, I wasn’t going to risk anything,” she said.
Beth and her sister raced 50 miles to the nearest emergency room. Once inside, that urgency came to a standstill.
“They didn’t immediately take me to do anything,” Beth said. “It was a Sunday in Utah, and it was a smaller town so there weren’t a lot of people on staff. They were just checking things out slowly. And I’m, like, ‘I'm having a heart attack!’”
After about an hour, tests confirmed that Beth had complete blockage in her left anterior descending artery. Surgery was needed, and a stent was implanted to keep the artery open.
Recovery meant assessing lots of areas of her life.
“I used to feel pretty invincible,” she said. “Now I know that I am not, and so I am very careful to try to avoid stress. My surgeon said, ‘Type A people have heart attacks, but they also recover quickly because they are willing to do the work.’”
Beth started cardiac rehab three times a week and bonded with the other participants, despite being younger than many of them.
“They doted on me,” she said. “We found ways to encourage each other and recover together.”
Beth was motivated to make other changes. She started eating healthier, using a CPAP device to improve breathing during sleep and prioritizing her mental health.
“I have to do things that feed my soul,” she said. “It’s not healthy to rush, rush, rush, achieve, which is what I’ve done a lot of my life. I really try to not be so perfectionist and find solace in my faith and playing the piano.”
She also advocates for others because of her own family’s experiences. Her mom had a heart attack and later died from kidney failure. Her brother had a heart attack months before Beth. And her dad wears a pacemaker.
“Heart health is on my mind all the time,” she said. “I want everyone to look into their family history, and don’t delay the minute you think anything might be heart related or even if you just feel vaguely strange. Take your symptoms seriously.”
She said women especially need to prioritize heart health.
“Don’t be that person who says, ‘I’m fine.’ I think we as women want to just power through. You definitely have to listen to your body and take the steps to care for yourself because you are important to so many people.”
Now 66, Beth looks back on her recovery with pride.
“Having a heart attack was a blessing because it taught me what’s important,” she said. “It taught me that I need to love myself and those I love by sticking around. Now I’m committed to doing things to take care of myself and to spread the word to everybody to take care of themselves.”
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