I thought I had indigestion after a takeaway, so why was my doctor so concerned?

I flopped down on the sofa, belly filled with takeaway kebab.

‘I’m so tired, I’m heading to bed,’ I said to my daughter Eleanor.

But a few hours later I woke in a cold sweat, my stomach churning.

It felt like indigestion so I took antacids but they provided little relief, so I decided to spend the weekend in bed, chalking it up to a dodgy kebab.

On Sunday I forced myself into the shower but I noticed a tingling sensation in my arms and I felt breathless.

So the next day, I headed to the doctor’s where I had an ECG to test if my heart was OK.

‘It could be a stomach ulcer,’ the doctor said, ‘but really we think you’re having a heart attack.’

‘I’ll just take the stomach ulcer if that’s OK,’ I joked, but the doctor didn’t crack a smile.

‘You need to get to the hospital now,’ she said.

In hospital, I was quizzed on my symptoms before being blue-lighted to the Royal Papworth in Cambridge, a specialist cardiac hospital.

There, I underwent an angioplasty with cardiologists inserting three stents in my heart, before recovering in critical care for four days.

I began a 12-week cardio rehab course which aided my physical recovery, but mental recovery was tougher.

Since my heart attack, the world has become a scary place.

I feared falling asleep in case I didn’t wake up and I was scared to leave the house.

Then, I discovered Facebook groups for heart attack survivors and made my own one called My Heart & Mind Community for Heart Attack and Heart Surgery Survivors.

They spoke about the mental repercussions of having a cardiac event and it inspired me to publish my own book, The Basics of Heart Management at Home, covering the practical and emotional aspects of life after being discharged from hospital.

Now, I’m raising awareness.

Us ladies might delay seeking help but it’s important to get any unusual symptoms checked out, it just might save your life.

ENDS