Overview
- Simpson collapsed while pacing a community mile in June and was kept alive at the track by bystander CPR and an automated external defibrillator until emergency personnel arrived.
- After arriving at a hospital she suffered a second cardiac arrest, was placed on life support, and was transferred to Duke University Hospital for advanced heart-failure care before her heart and lungs recovered.
- Doctors diagnosed her with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC), a rare inherited disease in which scar tissue disrupts the heart’s electrical system and can trigger dangerous rhythms.
- Simpson, who retired from elite racing in 2024 and serves as Fleet Feet’s chief running officer, says the diagnosis makes it unsafe to run competitively and that she is now recovering at home in Colorado with ongoing follow-up from Duke specialists.
- Her account highlights how immediate CPR and AED access, prompt EMS response, and specialized hospital care combine to save lives in sudden cardiac arrest and underscores the need for awareness of ARVC as a hidden cause of such events.