I was at my peak health and six years booze-free – then I was rushed to emergency close to a heart attack. Here’s my serious warning to women

For Amanda Goff, 50 was the new 30. She was fitter and healthier than ever and hadn’t touched drugs or alcohol in six years.

But her heart held a deadly secret – and on Monday, when she was due to go on holiday abroad, it was revealed.

She is now in hospital after surgery and expects to stay there for at least another week.

The former escort, who rose to fame as Samantha X, has NSVT, or non-sustained ventricular tachycardia. The potentially fatal condition can cause a heart to simply ‘stop pumping’.

It may also cause moderate to severe chest pain, fainting or feeling like you might pass out, shortness of breath or trouble breathing at rest.

Doctors advise people to go to the emergency room to have these symptoms evaluated.

Speaking to VROUW Amanda, who is now focusing on her career as a Pilates instructor, she shared that she had been feeling dizzy for months, especially when walking her dog.

The idea that she might faint during one of these walks was so real that she almost stopped going.

“Every time I exerted myself I felt like I was going to faint. It felt like I had to sit down on the sidewalk when I was walking,” she said.

She felt great and described herself as the fittest woman she had ever been before she ended up in the hospital

“I stopped because I didn’t want to faint.”

Her dizziness came on suddenly and passed almost as quickly.

‘It had been happening here and there for a few months, so bad that I had to sit with my head between my legs.

“But it only lasted about 30 seconds,” she added.

Amanda thought her dizziness and lightheadedness were due to perimenopause and told herself that women feel faint from time to time.

But before she went on holiday, she decided to visit her doctor, just to be sure.

“I’ve fallen on a plane before and I didn’t want to go through that again,” she said.

Because her symptoms concerned her, the doctor referred her to NSW Cardiology, a department of the Alfred Hospital.

Last weekend she was placed in cardiac monitoring and the results meant she would have to stay in the ward for a long time and undergo surgery.

“I feel so lucky, I’ve been inundated with responses from women who have been through this,” Amanda said.

Amanda will now likely have to take pills for the rest of her life to ensure she is safe.

If her condition worsens this week or her body doesn’t accept the medication, she may need a defibrillator implanted to keep her heart beating at the right rhythm.

“We don’t talk about women’s heart health, so I thought hormones were the culprit,” she said.

Amanda felt dizzy when walking her dog, but she initially thought it was her hormones

She also thought that she might be tired, more stressed than she thought, or less fit.

Although strangely enough she never suffered from these attacks during Pilates.

According to her doctors, the condition is genetic and could develop at any time in her life.

“They don’t know yet what caused it, but they are doing more testing,” she said.

Just a few weeks ago, the Pilates instructor shared about her healing and fitness journey.

’50 is the new 30… but I was really unfit and full of booze at 30. 50 is 50… Fitter and happier, but it takes WORK: hard work emotionally, physically, mentally and spiritually,’ she wrote.

“I am fortunate to have a team that helps me, therapists, trainers, a very close group of girlfriends and my family. Exercise for MENTAL HEALTH is not a good body, and the rest will follow.”