Fitness coach, 22, who suffered heart attack reveals 999 call handlers turned down life-threatening illness due to fear
A fitness coach has told how 999 call handlers dismissed her heart attack as ‘anxiety’.
Faith Harrison felt a little “strange” after playing a hockey game on January 6, but never thought it could have something to do with her heart.
The 22-year-old, from Little Minsterly, Shropshire, revealed her arm ‘just went numb and tingly’.
Meanwhile, her chest became very tight ‘as if someone was sitting on it’.
Worried about her complaints, she drove to her parents’ house and immediately told her family and partner that ‘something was going on’.
Fitness coach Faith Harrison from Little Minsterly, Shropshire, has suffered permanent damage to her heart after her heart attack was dismissed as anxiety
Her father then called 911 after she started vomiting profusely.
Mrs Harrison said: ‘The counselor said it was probably anxiety or a panic attack.
“By then I knew something was seriously wrong.”
Miss Harrison’s partner Sam and her father took her to A&E at Telford’s Princess Royal Hopital.
Doctors then decided she should be taken to the nearest cardiology specialist center at Royal Stoke University Hospital.
Tests – seven hours after the onset of her symptoms – revealed she had suffered a ‘widowmaker’ heart attack.
Doctors said she was lucky to be alive.
The 22-year-old was also diagnosed with a patent foramen ovale (PFO), a small hole between the upper two chambers of the heart that usually closes after birth.
The avid gym visitor has permanent damage to her heart.
Ms Harrison is now calling for greater awareness of the symptoms of a heart attack among young people and NHS staff.
Recalling the day of her heart attack, she said: ‘After the match I just didn’t feel like myself.
“I didn’t feel sick or ill, just not like me.
‘I got in my car to drive home and about half an hour later my arm became numb and tingly, and my chest became very tight as if someone was sitting on it.
‘I did wonder if something serious was going on.
‘But I could talk and move, so I thought I was doing well. I never thought it could have something to do with my heart.’
Chest pain and pain spreading to the arms are telltale signs of a heart attack, as are nausea, sweatiness, light-headedness or shortness of breath. However, it is possible to have a heart attack without experiencing these symptoms
Miss Harrison, who traveled more than an hour to play the hockey game, decided to drive to her parents’ house because it was closer than hers.
“Somehow I got there, but as soon as I walked in I said, ‘Something’s wrong’
‘My parents, my partner Sam and I all thought my blood sugar levels were low.
“But I violently vomited everything they tried to give me,” she added.
An examination at the hospital revealed that a blood clot was blocking 90 percent of one of Mrs Harrison’s coronary arteries. It is one of the most important blood vessels and can be fatal without emergency treatment.
She was told she was lucky to be alive, but was also diagnosed with a patent foramen ovale (PFO), a small hole between the upper two chambers of the heart that usually closes after birth.
In very rare cases, PFO can cause a normally harmless blood clot to reach a coronary artery and cause a blockage, which can lead to a heart attack.
Mrs. Harrison underwent an emergency thrombectomy, a procedure to remove a blood clot from an artery.
But the damage to her heart was so severe that she now has heart failure.
In Britain there are around 100,000 hospital admissions due to heart attacks every year. According to the British Heart Foundation, that’s one every five minutes.
Symptoms of a heart attack include chest pain, dizziness, nausea and an overwhelming sense of anxiety, the NHS says.
A heart attack is a serious medical emergency. It happens when there is a sudden loss of blood supply to part of the heart muscle. Without enough blood and oxygen, the heart can become seriously damaged.
Although the majority of heart attacks occur in older people with underlying conditions such as heart disease, young people can also fall victim, just like Ms Harrison.
She said: ‘Having a heart attack and finding out I have heart failure has changed my life. I had business goals, I had fitness goals, I had life goals.
‘Now my goals are very different because my physical and mental health has changed so much.’
The latest figures show that at the end of January, more than 400,000 people in England were waiting for a heart test, operation or other heart procedure – an increase of 75 percent since February 2020.
It is estimated that tens of thousands are still waiting for a referral from their GP, regular check-ups with a specialist or aftercare such as cardiac rehabilitation.
Not knowing the symptoms of heart problems can also lead to delays in people seeking emergency medical care for conditions such as heart attacks and strokes.
The BHF has said that demand for help from its Heart Helpline has increased by 75 per cent in the past year.
Many people who call are concerned that they cannot get an appointment with a doctor.
Chloe MacArthur, a senior helpline nurse at the BHF, said: ‘It is worrying that so many people we speak to are experiencing stressful and often frightening delays to their time-sensitive heart care.
Although the majority of heart attacks occur in older people with underlying conditions such as heart disease, young people can also fall victim, just like Ms Harrison.
‘Last month someone told us they had to wait 72 weeks for heart surgery, which would have been unthinkable just a few years ago.
‘We also hear that people are delaying seeking help because they don’t know the symptoms of potentially life-threatening heart and circulatory conditions.’
There are 7.6 million people in Britain with a cardiovascular disease, such as a heart attack, stroke or heart failure.
Mrs Harrison said: ‘It’s reassuring to know that the British Heart Foundation is there for me when I need it as a source of support.
‘Their leaflets were a lifeline for me in hospital, and I used the Heart Helpline to learn more about cardiac rehabilitation.’
Miss Harrison, pictured with her partner Sam, has raised £250 from her hospital bed which will help fund BHF’s life-saving research into heart and circulatory conditions
As a thank you to the BHF, Miss Harrison has raised £250 from her hospital bed, which will help fund the charity’s life-saving research into heart and circulatory conditions.
She said: ‘What happened to me was nonsense, but I have been given a second chance and I want to do something with it.
“For me, I want to make young people aware that they are not invincible and tell them not to take life for granted.
‘Everyone, even young people, should learn the symptoms of a heart attack so they don’t delay seeking help. It can be lifesaving.
‘It is also crucial that healthcare professionals do not assume that young people cannot have heart attacks. I am living proof that that is the case.’