‘I am fit and healthy… but I had a life-threatening heart attack at 39’
NHS details signs of a heart attack
“I felt a deep pain in the middle of my chest,” Gemma Renault recalled, who was in the classroom with three other members of staff at the time.
“No one noticed anything at the time,” Gemma told Express.co.uk. “My first thought was that it was what I’d eaten the day before.”
Then the chest pain moved towards her jaw, throat and arms. “I did wonder if it was a heart attack,” said Gemma.
“But part of me thought I wouldn’t actually have a heart attack and another part of me was too frightened to get it checked.”
Ignoring the signs, which only lasted for five minutes, another wave of symptoms descended upon her later on in the day while she was still at work.
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Gemma didn’t know what it would mean for her if it did turn out to be a heart attack.
“When the symptoms continued in the evening, I was at home with my children,” said Gemma.
Feeling nauseous and sweaty, Gemma called 111, and the phone operator told her to go to A&E immediately.
Jumping in a cab to Queen’s Medical Centre, Gemma was quickly transferred to the City Hospital in Nottingham.
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After blood tests and CT scans, Gemma was told she was experiencing a heart attack and was fitted with a stent.
Having led a healthy and active lifestyle, she wasn’t sure why this was happening to her.
“I’ve since been diagnosed with undifferentiated connective tissue disease,” said Gemma.
“It means I have symptoms of Srojens syndrome and lupus, but it’s the lupus that caused the heart attack.”
Gemma described her recovery period from the heart attack as “slow”.
“The first two weeks out of hospital I was advised to only walk up and down the stairs twice a day,” said Gemma.
“I started cardiac rehabilitation around five to six weeks after the heart attack.
“I’m now back at the gym maybe five times a week, taking it slowly and listening to my body.”
NHS England’s ongoing Help Us, Help You campaign raises awareness of heart attack symptoms to help save more lives. Symptoms vary from person-to-person; it’s never too early to call 999 and describe your symptoms. Visit nhs.uk/heartattack for more information.
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