ROANOKE, Va. – Exercise, sports and fitness have always been a part of Allison Bowersock's life. The Culpepper native and co-owner of RunAbout Sports in Roanoke grew up playing sports, and went on to develop a career as an exercise physiologist.
"I played soccer and lacrosse and volleyball up until high school and then focused on soccer," Bowersock said. "Soccer was really my life year-round and then in college."
However, an undiagnosed heart condition nearly sidelined Bowersock.
"Not only did I have a problem, but I had a potentially fatal problem," Bowersock said.
Bowersock said she started having fainting spells in high school, episodes that continued when she played soccer at Bridgewater College.
"My chest would always be really tight and almost felt like I was having a heart attack, but I didn't know what that felt like," Bowersock said.
She said a cardiologist initially diagnosed her with anxiety disorder, but in her gut, she didn't feel that was the problem.
"We went for a second opinion, by the time I got to college, and these instances continued to occur," Bowersock said. "From that, we found I had this condition known as Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) syndrome."
WPW is a fairly rare condition in which there's an extra electrical pathway in the heart that causes a rapid heartbeat. The fast heart rate can lead to lightheadedness, fainting and tightness in the chest.
Bowersock elected to have surgery to fix the issue, but that uncovered another health issue.
"That's when they found I actually had an even more rare congenital defect associated with WPW," Bowersock said.
Surgery successfully addressed Bowersock's heart issues. She said that has dramatically improved her quality of life.
"Now I can do everything," Bowersock said. "I can run. I can bike. I can swim. I can lift. I can play with my kids."
Bowersock's heart journey has also fueled her drive to make sure everyone takes their heart health seriously.
"Developing high blood pressure, atherosclerosis, stroke, all of these things that are associated with heart disease, you can't feel them," Bowersock said. "You can't feel plaque building up in your arteries. You can't feel blockage developing to the point that it would eventually completely block flow and then eventually it could cause death."
Bowersock says physical activity has played a big role in her health and wellness, and she encourages people to use exercise as medicine as one part of protecting against the dangers of heart disease and stroke.
"Even if it's just 10-15 minutes a day, that adds up over time and you're still doing heart-healthy activities and ultimately protecting you against some of these issues, like developing high blood pressure and high cholesterol."