INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — It’s a condition that can literally take your breath away, causing almost a million people a year to have difficulty doing simple tasks like walking and working, and if it’s left untreated, blood clots can lead to a life-threatening condition.

Fun, fast and full-contact – that’s what Jessica Lopez loves about flat-track roller derby.

“Some of the best times of my life – even being here is a little emotional. Played it for five years,” said Jessica.

But a few years ago, Jessica had to hang up her skates.

“I had coughed all over the sink and there was just a lot of blood,” said Jessica.

She made her way to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, Illinois.

“We’re able to make the diagnosis that one side of her one lung, on the right side, was completely filled with clot, no blood flow was going through one side, and that led us to the diagnosis of CTEPH,” said Dr. Chris Malaisrie, a cardiac surgeon at Northwestern Medicine.

Jessica needed an immediate, life-saving surgery called PTE. The 10-hour procedure involved opening the chest and attaching Jessica to a heart-lung bypass machine.

“We are able to take a look inside the pulmonary artery, turn the circulation off so there’s no blood flooding in the field, and then, in meticulous fashion, slowly peel that clot away from the pulmonary artery,” said Malaisrie.

Almost immediately, Jessica could breathe better, and she believes what she learned on the track is why she is here today.

“It completely changed me as a woman to being able to not just be able to be more active, but to be more mentally strong, not just physically strong, and I’d never had that in my life,” said Jessica.

This story was created from a script aired on WISH-TV. Health Spotlight is presented by Community Health Network.