OMAHA, Neb. -- She's young, thin and a brand-new mom. But Jenny Petz's heart was a ticking timebomb. The 32-year-old west Omaha woman survived a heart attack just eight days after giving birth to her son, Kai.

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Young Mom Suffers Heart Attack

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The day after Christmas, she felt an odd sensation after nursing her newborn baby.

"I had a really funny feeling in my throat and it went down my throat and into my shoulders. My chest got really heavy and my arm went numb," Petz said.

Her husband ran to call 911. Her mother found an aspirin and put it under Petz's tongue. The next few minutes were a blur to Petz. She said the pressure on her chest was so intense, she thought her mother was lying on top of her.

"I landed on the floor. I was out, dying on the kitchen floor," she said.

Petz recalls her body being lifeless, but being able to hear voices around her, including paramedics who said they couldn't get her pulse.

Rescuers brought Petz to Alegent Lakeside Hospital, as they questioned whether the young woman was having a panic attack or a bad case of acid reflux.

"I remember the emergency room doctor say, 'Oh, it's a heart attack,'" Petz recalled.

Alegent cardiologist Dr. Stephen O'Connor said Petz was diagnosed and treated quickly because of Alegent Health's policy to treat every chest pain case the same, searching for signs of a heart attack, even when it seems unlikely.

"So that whole system of the Chest Pain Center is designed so that no one, even someone you wouldn't expect to have a heart attack, will fall through the cracks," O'Connor said.

Within 70 minutes of being rolled into the emergency room, Petz had three stents placed in her artery. She suffered a rare form of heart attack known as an artery dissection. O'Connor said these types of heart attacks are rare, but most often seen in young women.

"If you've ever seen a tire peel apart, the wall of the artery will fall apart and form a flap and stop the blood flow," O'Connor said.

O'Connor said out of 1,000 heart attacks they'll see, about 1-percent will be a dissection. He said Petz's high cholesterol was the underlying factor.

"My risk factors are: I don't work out on a regular basis. I had high cholesterol and didn't know it. And I don't know how to manage my stress," Petz said.

Petz's cholesterol was 307 at the time of her heart attack.

A follow-up visit to the cardiologist found Petz's heart in good condition with plenty of blood flow. O'Connor said she passed her stress test with flying colors. She left his office with orders to continue four medications and with resolve to exercise and eat healthy.

"It's amazing I survived it in the first place. I'm home and that's all I can be thankful for," she said.

Petz is a stay-at-home mom with two kids, 3-year-old Miley and baby Kai.

Petz wants all women to know the warning signs of a heart attack because symptoms can be different for men and women. Symptoms can include chest or back pain, elbow pain, nausea, anxiety or pain in the shoulders. Women can also experience dizziness and fluid retention.

She's also on a mission to tell people of all ages to know their blood cholesterol level.