Even though there was no history of heart disease in my family and my parents led a very healthy lifestyle, I was born with tricuspid atresia in 1986 in Berlin/Germany. Doctors noticed that my skin was very blue and something had to be wrong with me. After a palliative operation as a baby, I had a Fontan surgery when I
I have been suffering from SVT attacks since March 2010 when I suddenly collapsed at work. I was taken to A&E for tests, my heart rate was very high reaching over 200BPM, I remember being very scared as I was never in hospital and was always fit and healthy. They gave me a 6mg jag of adenosine and it slowed
Before I share my experiences and try to give some idea of how I try to cope with what has happened, one thing should be made very clear: having a heart condition sucks. I mean, it really sucks. It’s a massive thing to have to comprehend; that the core element of us, the heart, doesn’t work as it should. Or
I was out on a 5k run when suddenly my heart started beating several times faster than it should have been. I stopped, sat down, breathed deeply, but nothing would stop it. I was in the middle of a wood when it happened, exactly halfway through the run and so about 2.5k away from home. After about 10 minutes of resting,
Paula Beck (Simmonds) wrote her story to be included in the myheart booklet which was launched in November, 2013. I was diagnosed with Brugada syndrome on 8th August 2011 at St George’s Hospital. I am a mum of two, one of four siblings and was only 30 when diagnosed. Our family underwent tests after my brother (Craig) suddenly died in
Alessandro Miccoli wrote his story to be included in the myheart booklet which was launched in November, 2013. It wasn’t until the end of 2012 that a journalist first introduced me to the charity CRY. I quickly became aware of the amazing work they do in helping promote awareness of heart conditions in the young. Since my early teens, heart
Emma Jackson wrote her story to be included in the myheart booklet which was launched in November, 2013. I never liked sports when I was younger and was never any good. I remember having strange missed beats, tiredness and slight dizziness but thought this was normal. It was pure chance that a doctor noticed a heart ‘murmur’ prior to knee
Sian Donnelly wrote her story to be included in the myheart booklet which was launched in November, 2013. Whilst on a family holiday in 2004, my brother Adam died suddenly whilst playing volleyball at our hotel. After two post-mortems we were told that he had died from SADS (sudden adult death syndrome). At the time, we were completely unaware of any
Chris Currie wrote his story to be included in the myheart booklet which was launched in November, 2013. I was 24 and having the time of my life travelling around the world with two friends. We had made it to Bangkok when we found ourselves in a bar and I literally keeled over. I am only here today because I
Lucy Challis wrote her story to be included in the myheart booklet which was launched in November, 2013. On Sunday 29th January 2006, my older brother Stuart, age 25, collapsed and died playing football. I was 23 and my other brother was 27. Stuart was the fittest of the three of us. He had no symptoms. His post-mortem, confirmed by
Mallory Brand wrote her story to be included in the myheart booklet which was launched in November, 2013. I discovered I had Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) syndrome by chance. I manage events and exhibitions for a marketing agency in London. In July 2012, I was flying to Boston when I felt unwell during the flight, collapsed and after receiving oxygen from the
James Bailey wrote his story to be included in the myheart booklet which was launched in November, 2013. I was pumped up for the game. The adrenaline was rushing through my body. I couldn’t wait for kick-off but as soon as the whistle blew, my body reacted in a way it had never done before. My heart beating faster than