The Marfan Foundation<\/a>\n\t\t<\/p>\nAt 38, I nearly lost everything in an instant.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Joaquin.jpg\")
Marfan Foundation Board member and survivor Joaquin Ramos, Jr.<\/p>\n
I was healthy, active, and busy with work and family when I felt sudden, unbearable pain tear through my chest. I had no idea I had Marfan syndrome, a genetic aortic condition that put me at much higher risk for an aortic dissection\u2014a life-threatening tear in the body\u2019s main artery.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m here today only because the medical team treating me recognized the signs and acted immediately. <\/p>\n
Many others are not as lucky: up to 50% of people with an aortic dissection die before reaching the hospital, yet 80% could survive with prompt diagnosis and treatment.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1_STAT-1-1024x1024.png\")
<\/p>\n
As a board member of The Marfan Foundation, I\u2019m proud that we\u2019ve joined with six other leading aortic organizations across North America. By standing together during Aortic Dissection Awareness Week (September 14\u201320), we are stronger\u2014and we can reach more people with life-saving awareness\u2014through one shared message: STAT.<\/p>\n
S \u2013 Suspect the warning signs: sudden-onset severe pain (especially in the neck, back, chest, or abdomen); numbness or weakness in limbs; collapse; or a sense that something is terribly wrong. Pain is often intense, migratory, and may feel sharp, tearing, or ripping.<\/p>\n
T \u2013 Time is essential: Immediate emergency care\u2014and ideally transport to a hospital with advanced surgical care capabilities\u2014is critical.<\/p>\n
A \u2013 Aortic Imaging: Once dissection is rapidly confirmed via imaging (such as a CT scan), emergency surgery can save lives.<\/p>\n
T \u2013 Talk About It: Dissection often runs in families due to underlying genetic aortic conditions. Family members may need genetic testing and monitoring to stay safe. And survivors like me need support and community in order to thrive after dissection.<\/p>\n
I know how quickly life can change\u2014and how powerful it is when someone knows what to do. STAT saved my life. Knowing it could save someone you love.<\/p>\n
Sincerely,
Joaquin Ramos, Jr.
Board Member, The Marfan Foundation<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t![\"Avatar](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/marfan-favicon-300x300.png\")
\t\t\t<\/p>\n
The Marfan Foundation is a nonprofit organization that saves lives and improves the quality of life of individuals with genetic aortic and vascular conditions including Marfan, Loeys-Dietz, and Vascular Ehlers-Danlos syndromes. Our vision is a world in which everyone with genetic aortic and vascular conditions can live their best life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By The Marfan Foundation At 38, I nearly lost everything in an instant. Marfan Foundation Board member and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":157243,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[86256,18290,200,86260,79,248],"class_list":["post-157242","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-genetics","tag-aortic-dissection","tag-board","tag-genetics","tag-marfan","tag-science","tag-stat"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157242","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=157242"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157242\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/157243"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=157242"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=157242"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=157242"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Joaquin](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/joaquin-wedding.jpg\")
\t\t\t<\/p>\n