Lori Kupetz is a 40-year-old recuperating from triple bypass surgery. Her mother and sister-in-law will never know how close they came to losing her.

For a year, Lori suffered with severe chest pain. Despite a family history of heart disease, a stress test and her healthy lifestyle convinced doctors it wasn't her heart.

"He said, 'you are a young, thin, healthy woman that's been a vegetarian for 15 years... never smoked'... and he said I was barking up the wrong tree," recalls Lori.

Soon even the slightest exercise brought excrutiating pain. Still no answers... until Lori found Doctor Noel Bairey-Merz - an expert in women's heart disease. Doctor Bairey-Merz immediately suspected microvascular disease - blockage of the small arteries... a problem common in women. Also, an MRI showed Lori's arteries weren't working as they should. Three had major blackages.

"Had I not pursued and gone through with it, then... I probably wouldn't be here," says Lori with tears in her eyes.

Women need to know their risks... if you smoke, have diabetes or high cholesterol... it can affect your heart moreso than it can a man's... so can stress and depression. Look for anything unusual above your waist... signs of heart trouble include indigestion, lightheadedness and excessive fatigue. Most importantly... get tested.

"An E-K-G is so much cheaper than a mammogram and yet women act and get mammograms all the time," says Dr. Bairey Merz.

Lori listened to her heart. It forced her to get a second opinion and very likely saved her life.