With an Open Heart
Suzanne Boots Knighton ’00 is grateful for her life — and the lessons of heart disease.
When Suzanne Boots Knighton ’00 had heart-attack symptoms on a mountain-bike ride in 2020, she ignored them. “Who wants to have a heart attack at 42?” she asks. But heart disease can happen at any age. It’s the leading cause of death for men and women in the United States, accounting for 1 in 5 deaths in 2022.
Admitting to herself that something was wrong turned out to be easier than convincing doctors. Even after her cardiologist found three congenital heart defects, he still attributed Knighton’s symptoms to anxiety. She told her cardiologist, “I know what anxiety feels like. My left arm should not be killing me all the time. I feel like I’m going to die.” She searched for a new doctor, traveled across the country from her home in Victor, Idaho, for open-heart surgery and eventually found the care she needed.
I know what anxiety feels like. My left arm should not be killing me all the time. I feel like I’m going to die.
Knighton, 46, considers herself to be fortunate. Because of her background in biological sciences, she felt equipped to understand her medical situation, ask informed questions and do proper research. Now she’s eager to help other heart patients do the same. In January 2023 she launched a weekly podcast called Open Heart Surgery with Boots: A Podcast for Heart Patients by a Heart Patient. On it, Knighton, who goes by her middle name, Boots, talks with researchers and health professionals, prioritizing credible information and personal testimony.
The podcast enables Knighton to help heart patients learn more about their health, become self advocates and connect with one another. But she especially likes getting to know other people who are experiencing the life-shifting perspective open-heart surgery can bring.
Realizing that she could die during surgery put her day-to-day tasks into relief. “The to-do lists, the errands, the [politics] — the things that are quick to steal our joy — really, truly, don’t matter,” she says. Her podcast helps her stay focused on what’s important. “Heart surgery is hard,” Knighton says. “Let’s talk about how your life has changed for the better.”
Photograph by Lara Agnew.
