Manchester woman, 32, dies suddenly after two years of heart palpitations that doctors dismissed as ‘stress-related’
The family of a ‘healthy’ 32-year-old woman who died in a shocking death have urged young Britons to contact doctors after the tragic Manchester woman’s symptoms were dismissed as ‘just stress’.
Rhian Griffiths, who lived in Sale, Manchester, had suffered from shortness of breath for two and a half years and had a heart attack.
But doctors – including an ER doctor – consistently said her problems were related to stress, her sister said, Fion Griffiths-Armstrong, 31.
In March 2023, hours after telling her family her heart was “not right,” the surveyor was found unconscious by her mother, having suffered a cardiac arrest.
Rhian Griffiths, who lived in Sale, Manchester, was otherwise fit and healthy. But in September 2020, she suddenly developed shortness of breath and a racing heart, which turned out to be indicative of an underlying heart condition.
After her death, the family was told that Mrs Griffiths had been suffering from an undiagnosed heart complication called myocarditis. The condition can weaken the heart muscle and increase the risk of fatal complications, including heart attack and stroke.
Ms Griffiths-Armstrong is now urging people not to ignore any worrying symptoms and to push for a diagnosis.
Ms Griffiths first experienced heart palpitations after contracting COVID-19 in September 2020. According to her sister, she sought help at her local emergency room.
“She had all the checks but was discharged the next day and was completely fine,” said Mrs Griffiths-Armstrong.
‘In March of the following year, she received the Covid vaccine and the next day she went back to the hospital with the same problem.
‘They saw nothing in the tests and thought the palpitations could be stress-related.
‘In March 2023, she texted us to say her heart was acting up again and she had to go to the hospital.
Despite going to the emergency room, Mrs Griffiths (right) was discharged a day later and told her palpitations could have been ‘stress related’, claimed Ffion Griffiths-Armstrong (pictured left).
Over the course of two and a half years, further visits blamed stress for the cost expert’s symptoms. But hours after telling her family in March 2023 that her heart was “acting up again” and reassuring them “not to panic,” she was found unconscious by her mother after suffering a cardiac arrest
‘She was texting us all day and seemed perfectly fine. She had been feeling unwell all week.
‘The Saturday before we had all gone out for drinks and had a great night.’
During this third visit, Mrs Griffiths was kept in hospital overnight for monitoring. However, at 2am the following morning, Mrs Griffiths-Armstrong received a call from her mother urging her to come to hospital, adding that her sister was unresponsive.
Rhian Griffiths died a few hours later.
Mrs Griffiths-Armstrong added: ‘I think it was a complete shock to the staff on the ward as well. I don’t think they knew how serious it was. They had no idea what had happened.
‘The autopsy later said Rhian had died of acute myocarditis. You can pick up (signs of) the disease with tests.
‘I don’t know if they didn’t see it as a warning sign because Rhian was fit and healthy and recovered so well from the palpitations.
“We believe that unknowingly contracting Covid had this effect on her heart. We are still so confused by it and want answers.
Tragically, her family were later told that Mrs Griffiths had the undiagnosed heart complication myocarditis, which can weaken the heart muscle. Mrs Griffiths is pictured in hospital after suffering from heart palpitations.
“You just don’t expect this to happen to a fit and healthy 32-year-old girl. She did everything right, so it’s frustrating that this was missed. From what I’ve read, myocarditis is preventable and treatable.
“It really makes us angry that her symptoms were just dismissed as stress. She was just not taken seriously.”
Myocarditis usually occurs after a virus. It is caused by the body’s immune system overreacting to an infection, causing inflammation that can remain in the heart even after the virus is gone.
In some patients there are no symptoms, but in others it can cause chest pain, palpitations and shortness of breath.
But in rare cases, if the inflammation is severe, myocarditis can leave scars on the heart muscle. This can affect the heart’s electrical activity and how well blood is pumped through the body, potentially causing a heart attack.
According to the UK medicines regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), research suggests that the risk of myocarditis from infection with the virus itself is estimated at around 1,500 cases per million patients.
There have been rare reports of myocarditis following the Covid vaccine. These cases are thought to be more common in young men under 25.
According to the MHRA, there were 10 reports per million doses of myocarditis following vaccination with the monovalent Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.
For the monovalent Moderna vaccine, this was 14 per million doses.
Field studies show that the vast majority of cases of vaccine-induced myocarditis are mild.
For many people, it goes away on its own and since 2021, during the Omikron wave, people under 40 are no longer routinely invited for a vaccination.
Cardiologists have repeatedly stressed that the vaccine has not led to an increase in cardiovascular health problems.
Now Ms Griffiths-Armstrong wants to raise awareness about the condition and keep the memory of her late sister alive by running 32 marathons in 32 days for the British Heart Foundation.
Her GoFundMe has already raised almost £2,000 since launching last month.
She said: ‘Rhian was the most lovely, bubbly, energetic person. She always had a smile on her face. She had such a zest for life and so much more life to give.
‘We did everything together, so my whole world fell apart when she died. It was only important life moments like my wedding that she missed. And we all mourn her life – she loved her job and life in Manchester.
“I still don’t think it’s really sunk in yet. It’s not something your parents have to go through – it’s not the order of life. I just don’t want people to forget her, because she was a wonderful person.”