The sister of the '90210' alum can't stop her tears from running down her face when she discusses her upcoming surgery, which may put her at risk of heart failure.
- Feb 7, 2024
AceShowbiz - Rachel McCord has gone emotional when she opened up about her health problem. The sister of actress AnnaLynne McCord revealed that she is required to undergo an urgent open heart surgery as she has been diagnosed with a degenerative heart condition.
The 34-year-old model couldn't stop her tears from running down her face when she shared that she was diagnosed with mitral valve prolapse or MVP. According to the Mayo Clinic, it is a "type of heart valve disease" that can cause "blood to leak backward across the valve."
Speaking to Daily Mail on Tuesday, February 6, Rachel said, "I have mitral valve prolapse and it causes regurgitation, which basically means the valves in your heart that are supposed to be one way [face the wrong direction]. I'm having blood flow that's going backwards so it's difficult to get enough oxygen and blood flow through the other areas of my body."
The TV host went on to admit, "I'm riding the waves of just bursting into tears, thinking about what [the surgery] is like." About the procedure itself, she explained, "It's technically open heart surgery. So you know, your heart isn't beating, it's on a machine. They have to kind of like jump it back. And it's scary stuff."
During the chat, Rachel recalled how she found out there was something wrong with her heart. "I have a three-and-a-half-year-old and chasing him around when I literally am panting for breath has been intense. Usually I have to stop even to go up one flight of stairs, and I live in a two story house. So that's a daily challenge," she said.
"In some ways I think my house has made it easier for me to identify it because I used to notice it just when I was doing exercise," she continued. "But then when I started realizing how much it affects my daily life. I don't drive on highways because I never know if I'm going to have a sick puppy type episode where either I faint, I feel like I'm gonna fade, or I fully pass out."
It took years for doctors to finally be able to diagnose Rachel. She recounted, "You're like, 'Awesome, we figured out why I've been feeling like I'm going crazy, because every doctor thinks I'm insane.' And then at the same time, you're like, 'Oh, no, but this is my heart.' It just advanced really, really quickly."
Rachel will need three months to recover from the upcoming surgery, which may put her at risk of heart failure. Though so, she remains strong amid the challenging time as she receives support from her husband Rick Schirmer and their son Jude.
