Nadia Montenegro opens up about heart surgery

Nadia Montenegro guested on Mikee Quintos's show, "Lutong Bahay," where she opened up about her recent heart surgery for Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) syndrome.

On Thursday's episode, the veteran actress shared that she's had WPW syndrome since she was 17 years old and that her recent operation was her first heart surgery.

According to the Mayo Clinic, WPW syndrome is a heart condition that is congenital or present at birth. Those with this condition have an extra pathway in their heart, which causes periods of rapid heartbeat. It is also known as preexcitation syndrome.  

"'Yung WPW hindi siya nakakamatay kaya never ko siya pinagawa. Ang nagyari sa 'kin nung nag-palpitate at inatake ako ng WPW ko, bumagsak ang blood pressure ko imbis na tumaas," she explained.

Nadia's youngest daughter, Sophia, also shared that she was the one who accompanied her mom when she got hospitalized.

For the actress, she had a lot of realizations during her time in the hospital.

"Nung wini-wheel in ako ng six ng umaga, 'yung hindii ko pa nakakausap lahat, parang gusto mo mag-I love you sa lahat, gusto mo tawagan lahat," she said.

"Andami mo pala biglang iisipin na gusto mo pang sabihin, ganun pala 'yung feeling na yun na hindi ka sure kung [makakalabas], hindi ako sure."

During her surgery, she shared that she had four catheters in her right artery and three in the left

"Arteries ko, imagine, apat na catheters sa right artery and then tatlo dito. Sinunog 'yung isang aking valve. Gising ka, nararamdaman mo lahat, parang naging scary. I realized being wheeled in na I cannot live without them."

In November, Nadia posted her health journey on Instagram, sharing photos of her and her family in the hospital and her return home.

"God only knows what I've been through," she wrote in the caption.

Catch "Lutong Bahay" on weekdays at 5:45 p.m. on GTV.

— CDC, GMA Integrated News