Most Searched
Originally published September 5, 2025
Last updated September 5, 2025
Reading Time: 4 minutes
Search more articles
Topics
Céline Comolet, 34, an operations manager from Los Angeles, fell in love with running after the pandemic. She started training in 2022 and completed the Los Angeles Marathon in early 2024.
Despite this active lifestyle, Céline had a nagging feeling something wasn’t quite right. She sometimes experienced chest pain while running — but since the discomfort was always temporary, she would assume she hadn’t warmed up properly and just keep going.
That all changed during a workout with her running club in July 2024.
“Not even 50 feet out, the chest pain suddenly went from zero to 200 and it was worse than anything I’d felt before. I was struggling to breathe and my vision was going in and out. I thought it was a panic attack.”
After that incident, Céline’s primary care doctor referred her to a cardiologist. After a series of tests that all came back normal, the specialist recommended a CT scan that revealed a surprising result: Céline had a congenital heart defect.
Céline was diagnosed with an anomalous left coronary artery (ALCA). It’s a rare condition where the pulmonary artery constricts the left coronary artery. It’s typically episodic, and restricts blood flow and oxygen to the heart. Left untreated, ALCA can cause a heart attack.
Since ALCA requires open-heart surgery to fix, Céline’s cardiologist referred her to Vaughn Starnes, MD, a cardiothoracic surgeon and the founding executive director of the USC Cardiac and Vascular Institute, part of Keck Medicine of USC.
“He told me Dr. Starnes is the best heart surgeon in California,” Céline says.
While Dr. Starnes has extensive expertise treating congenital heart disease in babies, he sees an increasing number of adult patients with conditions like ACLA.
“Today, there are more adults living with congenital heart disease than children,” Dr. Starnes says, explaining that the rise in diagnoses is due to improvements in scanning technology. “It’s a growing population of patients and here at Keck Medicine, we’re expanding our ability to answer that need.”
Céline says she’s especially appreciative of the network of people with Keck Medicine who helped her prepare for the heart surgery, starting with Perlie Tam, NP-C, a nurse practitioner specializing in cardiac care. Tam works closely with Dr. Starnes to ensure patients have all the information they need to be prepared, both physically and mentally, for their procedures.
“Not knowing what to expect can be scary for patients and their families,” Tam says. “The team makes ourselves available to answer their questions and help set expectations for their recovery. I find this brings them reassurance.”
“At a true heart institute like ours, there are multiple layers of specialists who are well-versed in cardiac diseases,” adds Dr. Starnes. “It takes a village to care for patients and we really have an excellent group, from the surgeons and anesthesiologists to the nurse practitioners and physician assistants.”
“Any question I had, Perlie was quick to respond and connect me with the right people,” says Céline. “I really did feel like from beginning to end, she and everyone else at Keck were all there for me.”
Céline’s open-heart surgery at Keck Hospital of USC in December 2024 was successful. Dr. Starnes rerouted her pulmonary artery so that it would no longer constrict the coronary artery. For an ALCA repair, patients usually spend a few days in the hospital and can expect a full recovery in about six weeks.
Dr. Starnes strongly emphasizes the importance of movement as soon as possible after heart surgery. He says exercise promotes deep breathing, which can help post-op patients avoid fluid accumulation in the lungs that can lead to pneumonia.
“We really encourage people to walk right away so they don’t get debilitated,” Dr. Starnes says.
Céline says that, after she spent one night in the intensive care unit — a standard precaution after her type of surgery — physical therapists wasted no time getting her up and moving.
“Everyone was so patient and helpful, and they quickly had me going up and down the hallways with a walker,” she says.
Céline was able to return home after five days in the hospital, and says she started feeling like her normal self again within weeks. According to Dr. Starnes, Céline’s follow-up care will include annual stress tests for a few years.
“We achieved a good result, and I don’t think [the congenital heart defect] will be an issue for Céline in the future,” he says.
Céline is now running better than ever before. Since the surgery, she has completed two half marathons and set personal records in both of them.
“There is this relief, and sense of freedom, that I can start every run and not be worried about what my heart is going to do,” she says.
Her next challenge is the New York City Marathon in November. She joined the American Heart Association’s Heart & Stroke team and is using the platform to help raise awareness about heart health.
“I was healthy my whole life and never would’ve imagined a heart issue,” Céline says. “What I would want people to take away from my story is to listen to their body, and don’t dismiss it when something feels off.”
Share
