Health · Healthcare & Policy · 6 hrs ago
Northern Ireland woman survives cardiac arrest linked to inherited condition
Sandra survived a heart attack and cardiac arrest after becoming critically ill in Spain.
She was ventilated in hospital, and her four children flew out as doctors feared she might die.
Her recovery was long and difficult: she returned home in a wheelchair and later needed another week in hospital.
She has ongoing health problems, including PTSD, and an implanted device to reduce the risk of another cardiac arrest.
The experience still limits her daily life, and she has not been able to return to work.
The Belfast Health Trust runs a screening service for familial hypercholesterolaemia, or FH, a condition it describes as silent.
Relatives of people diagnosed with FH are offered testing, and those diagnosed can receive long-term cholesterol-lowering medication and periodic cholesterol checks.
Sandra, a woman from Northern Ireland, survived a cardiac arrest linked to an inherited condition.
She was ventilated in hospital for 11 days, and her four children flew to Spain as her family feared the worst.
After returning home in February, she later passed out and was admitted to Altnagelvin Hospital for a week.
She has an implantable cardioverter defibrillator and continues to experience health effects that limit her daily activities.
The Belfast Health Trust offers testing to relatives of people diagnosed with familial hypercholesterolaemia.
- Who
- Sandra, a woman from Northern Ireland.
- What
- She survived a cardiac arrest linked to an inherited condition.
- When
- The sources do not state when the cardiac arrest happened.
- Where
- Not stated.
- Why
- The cardiac arrest was linked to an inherited condition; the article identifies familial hypercholesterolaemia as FH.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Sandra was ventilated for 11 days, and her four children flew to Spain as her family feared the worst.
Sandra was allowed to fly home, using a wheelchair after muscle wastage during her hospital stay.
The pandemic began, and Sandra did not receive cardiac rehabilitation.
Sandra passed out and was admitted to Altnagelvin Hospital for a week.
- Hospital ventilation
- 11 days
- Children
- Four
- Return home
- February
- Hospital after passing out
- Altnagelvin Hospital; admitted for a week
- Heart device
- Implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD)
What people are saying
Never in a million years did I think something like this could happen to me.
I was fit, healthy, ate really well, I had no worries about my health.
Thanks to this programme, Northern Ireland has the highest rate of identification of FH in the UK and one of the highest rates of diagnosed cases in the world.
Sources
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