Carly Pearce has opened up about her heart scare. In case you weren't aware, she was diagnosed with recurrent pericarditis around three years ago.
At the time, per People, when she went to the ER after experiencing "stabbing chest pain", her first thought was, "Am I going to die?".
That experience for her was particularly scary. Her father had experienced a widowmaker heart attack when he was just 45, and she was 19. Of course, "it was scary" - especially for a "young, healthy, active woman".
It took a long time for her to learn that she had recurrent pericarditis - the doctors had misdiagnosed her a few times. The condition is where the thin sac around the heart experiences inflammation. She was told she needed to "take it easy" - because if her heart rate was elevated, the condition could have worsened.
"It was hard," she recalled. "I'm a HIIT workout, bootcamp, distance runner, so all that had to come to a screeching halt for a while," she revealed. "I felt like my wings were clipped."
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But the Heart Scare Helped Her in a Way
You might be wondering, "How?"
Well, in her words, "it allowed me to be even more vulnerable, especially on a large stage, bringing it back to a human moment."
"That was super connecting with fans. They saw me as Carly, the person that was having a struggle." The whole heart scare also lead to her being "more open and honest" - something that defined her newest album, Honest Woman. I mean, it's literally in the name!
"I'm an over-sharer at heart, but I like it that way," she admitted. Following her diagnosis, she now knows she needs to paced herself. "Trying to push myself when there's some inflammation going on around my heart could lead to something that could put stress on it," she explained.
And she's found that balance - "I'm running all over [now], acting crazy. I feel totally great. But now I have a healthy balance, understanding that you don't always have to go 100%. Maybe have a workout that's 80% or 70, or maybe walking more or just moving your body. I've changed my mindset."
