A year after having a heart transplant, a little girl who suffered six heart attacks by the age of 18 months is now the "picture of health," the Daily Mail reported.
Zoe Chambers, 2, was born with cardiomyopathy, a potentially fatal disease in which the heart muscle becomes inflamed and doesn't work as well as it should. There may be multiple causes including viral infections, according to the American Heart Association.
Just over a year ago, Zoe was being kept alive by a Berlin heart machine at a hospital in England. Last June, a donor was found and Zoe underwent a 10-hour transplant at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.
The little girl's family held a party Monday to celebrate the transplant that saved her life.
"You can't help thinking what could have happened if we hadn't got a heart when we did," Zoe's mother Julie Chambers said.
"She couldn't have coped with another infection. We know how lucky we are to have her here at all,” the 34-year-old added.
There are three main types of cardiomyopathy: dilated, hypertrophic and restrictive, according to the heart association. The most common form is dilated, which means the heart cavity is enlarged and stretched. This weakens the heart, which stops pumping normally, and most patients develop heart failure.
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