AUSTIN — AUSTIN – An Austin mother could have died if it wasn't for her unborn baby, according to doctors.
It all started when Ashley Molock was nearly 7 months pregnant and went to the emergency room because she was having trouble breathing.
“Couldn't catch my breath,” said Molock. “I didn't think it was that serious just thought I was going through an episode of pregnancy.”
But she quickly realized it was much more than that.
Doctors did a CT scan looking for a blood clot, but Molock said what they found was a growing aneurysm near her heart -- more specifically an aortic root aneurysm -- which is deadly.
What was so alarming was doctors said that aneurysms often go undetected.
“Almost everyone that we treat with an ascending aortic aneurysm or ascending aortic dissection was asymptomatic, in other words, they had no warning signs or whatever,” said Dr. Brannon Hyde, cardiac surgeon at Heart Hospital of Austin and with Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgeons (CTVS).
So, if Molock's aneurysm had erupted, it could have kill her.
“Over 50 percent of aneurysms that rupture lead to death,” said Dr. Hyde.
But thanks to symptoms Molock thought were related to her pregnancy, doctors were able to perform heart surgery in time, quite possibly saving her life.
Molock calls her seven-and-a-half-month-old girl Persephone her “miracle baby.”
“I could have been just walking to work and had a serious incident with this bursting, so I’m very grateful,” said Molock. “I cherish every moment with her because I could not be here if it wasn't for her."
Doctors at Heart Hospital of Austin performed the first part of her surgery and she's doing well. Molock said she will go back in about six months for another surgery.
Doctors urge those with family members who have died from an aneurysm to get screened because the condition can run in the family.