As a captain of the Chicago Luvabull dancers in the late 1990s, Natalie Poli gasped for air after performing elaborate dances on the basketball court for Chicago Bulls fans.

Poli had danced her whole life – she started at age 3. In her eighth-grade graduation program, her answer to "What do you want to be when you grow up?" was "Dance for the Chicago Bulls." She joined both her high school and college dance teams.

For Poli, the feeling of gasping for air on the Bulls' court was familiar. Years earlier, during runs and circuit training with her University of Iowa dance team, she got so out of breath it brought her to tears. Her chest would also hurt. She thought she was just out of shape.

One day after dancing for Bulls fans, 21-year-old Poli came off the court huffing and puffing more than ever before. A fellow dancer with asthma had an inhaler. Poli asked for a puff. It didn't help much, but eventually her breathing calmed down.

That episode prompted her to see a doctor. She was told she might have athlete-induced asthma and, if so, it was mild; thus, nothing really to worry about. She went back to the Luvabulls and the day job she had at a law firm.

After that NBA season, her second as a Luvabull, Poli left and took a job in recruiting. She got married, had a son named Cole, went back to school to get a master of arts and teaching degree and her professional educators license, then welcomed another baby boy, Dylan.

One night when Dylan was 9 weeks old, Natalie – then 29 – gave Cole a bath. Afterward, she went to get a diaper from his bookshelf. Her hand reached out. Then she fell to the ground.

Natalie crawled into the hallway and shouted for her then-husband, who was downstairs cooking dinner. He ran up the stairs.

"I think I'm having a stroke!" Natalie said.

She wasn't sure why stroke came to mind.

"Maybe you're just tired," he said. It was true the couple wasn't sleeping well. They had a newborn at home, after all, and Cole was a toddler.

Natalie laid down for a few minutes. But she just didn't feel right. She went to get her doctor's phone number, and she tumbled down the stairs. Finally, Natalie got the phone and punched in the number, planning to ask to speak with the doctor on call.

She thought she was speaking. In reality, no words came out of her mouth.

"Hello? Hello?" the answering service rep said.

Frustrated, Natalie hung up and called her in-laws. When they heard static on the line, they thought Cole accidentally called them on speed dial. They hung up.

Next, Natalie called 911. "I need an ambulance," she thought she said.

Instead, the operator asked, "Hello? Are you there?"

Natalie knew she needed to get her husband's help. She tried to return the cordless phone to its base, but it fell and cracked on the bathroom floor. Then, the doorbell rang.

It was a police officer responding to her 911 call. He handed Natalie a pen and paper and told her to write down what was going on. In her right hand, the pen fell to the ground.

The officer recognized the signs and symptoms of a stroke. He grabbed his radio. "I have a 29-year-old stroke victim, nine weeks postpartum. Send the medics now," he said.

By that point, Natalie had lost all feeling on her right side and all speech. EMTs arrived and rushed her to the hospital. She'd had a transient ischemic attack, or a mini-stroke, meaning that blood flow to her brain had been temporarily blocked.

The cause appeared to be a blood clot that traveled from her heart to her brain.

During her eight days in the hospital, she underwent multiple tests to assess her brain and heart function. An echocardiogram, or an ultrasound of her heart, found the real culprit behind the clot.

She had a rare heart defect called atrial septal aneurysm that had been there since birth. People with the condition have extra tissue on the wall between the heart's two upper chambers. It's associated with a higher risk of blood clots and stroke. She also had two holes in her heart.

Luckily, the day after her stroke, Natalie regained her speech and movement. She also didn't have any permanent damage to her brain.

She left the hospital on a Tuesday. She was only a few months from earning her master's degree, and on Thursday she had class.

Two months after her stroke, Natalie had a procedure to close the holes in her heart with mesh-like discs. She'd need regular checkups with her cardiologist, who also prescribed an aspirin a day. Six months after that, she graduated.

Natalie had a third child, Alec. She also divorced and remarried; her new husband, Tony Poli, is a retired police officer.

Two decades earlier, Tony had unknowingly watched Natalie dance at Bulls games when he attended them through a police-run charity event. As a police officer, Tony had experience responding to calls for people having a stroke.

"It's amazing that Natalie was able to fully recover after having a stroke at such a young age," he said.

Over the years, Natalie dealt with anxiety about having another stroke.

"That's something no one should be ashamed of," she said. "I had to overcome it. Eventually, it diminished over time."

In 2021, she was the first runner-up in the Mrs. Illinois pageant, then became Mrs. Illinois when the winner resigned. She won the title of Mrs. Midwest International, too. She used her platform to share her story and educate the public about heart disease.

"Natalie is always advocating for people," Tony said.

Now 47, Natalie works as an elementary school principal. She is six classes and a dissertation shy of her doctorate degree in education.

She's written a children's book about congenital heart defects and regularly shares her story. She's also a passionate advocate for patients to have resources to allow heart defects to be caught early.

"I use my voice because others can't," Natalie said. "I was saved. This is my opportunity to make a difference."

____

Stories From the Heart chronicles the inspiring journeys of heart disease and stroke survivors, caregivers and advocates.

American Heart Association News covers heart and brain health. Not all views expressed in this story reflect the official position of the American Heart Association. Copyright is owned or held by the American Heart Association, Inc., and all rights are reserved.