‘I thought I was having indigestion’, said Debbie, when thinking back about the symptoms she experienced. ‘And I ignored it for a few days she said.
‘But then I got pins and needles in my hands so I rang the doctor. After explaining the symptoms I was experiencing, they said I needed to go to A&E. The doctor had given me a letter and rang them in advance to alert them I was on the way. I brought my book in but I only got to the first page before being taken in.
Things then changed for Debbie.
Following an ECG, Debbie was told she was in the middle of having a heart attack, since the first day of her symptoms.
The nurse told her ‘you’re going to get a fright and things will happen very quickly. We need to get you in and seen very quickly. There will be a lot of people talking over you and not to you.‘
‘And that’s exactly what happened’, said Debbie.
After further tests, including an angiogram, Debbie said she was told she had broken heart syndrome and the doctor showed her ‘a crack in my heart on the screen.’
This was surprising for Debbie as she said, ‘I feel like I have a healthy heart – I go to the gym and walk approx 10,000 steps a day and I don’t smoke.’
"I feel like I have a healthy heart - I go to the gym and walk approx 10,000 steps a day and I don’t smoke."
‘When I was in the ward, I was being monitored for 3 – 4 days and had a 24-hour heart monitor attached which I couldn’t take it off.
‘They told me I was very silly for waiting a few days and also very lucky.’
However, Debbie was then told that stress caused her heart attack, following a very difficult period when a number of family members passed away and Debbie was grieving.
She said ‘the abnormal became my normal – I was organising funerals, etc.
When recalling her admission to hospital, Debbie said: ‘It was very frightening. It was Covid time and no one was allowed to come in to me. I was brought to intensive care for 5 days and no one was allowed to come in.
‘I found that very stressful because it’s new to you, you don’t know what is happening and you’re afraid to be on your own.’
Debbie soon afterwards completed cardiac rehabilitation. ‘I found that very good and I would recommend it to anyone.
‘The recovery was awful as I’m a walker – I could usually walk for hours. They told me I was just allowed to walk up and down the road once on day one, and walk up and down the road twice on day two, and so on, so it took a while to build back up to my 8,000 – 10,000 steps a day.’
‘When I left the hospital, I was a bit afraid because of the situation I was in. Was I going to have another heart attack because of the grief?
‘Now, I pay attention to if I have any pains or symptoms. If I have them I make myself aware and monitor them.
‘It was only because my dad had two heart attacks previously, that I know the symptoms.
I know the symptoms with the pins and needles and the clammy feeling that you get. That’s when I knew it wasn’t just indigestion, but I don’t suppose a lot of women would know that.’
"It was only because my dad had two heart attacks previously, that I know the symptoms. "
‘I remember seeing my dad have a heart attack and he was bent over in pain. I didn’t get any pain. I think that’s why I dismissed it for a couple of days.
‘The doctor told me to avoid stress but I’m not aware when I’m stressed. As a family, have we have lots going on at the minute. My mum, Dolores, has gone into a nursing home with Alzheimer’s disease.
‘The majority of people say to me, you’re so fit. But it doesn’t help your stress levels – it’s not the same thing. If you’re grieving for family members, that’s going to have an impact on you. It doesn’t matter how fit you are.’
Debbie, a special needs assistant in a special school, returned to work after nine months.
During this time, she participated in cardiac rehabilitation and continues to have the support of her husband.
‘I highly recommend cardiac rehabilitation – I found that very good and I would recommend it to anyone. I was offered counselling too if in ever want it.
‘My husband Roy was amazing. As he always is. Because of the untimely death of the three members of my family. He was so supportive – he would be coming out on the walks with me, saying that’s enough for today. And doing things around the house that I wasn’t able to do – like the washing, hoovering and others.
She joined the Irish Heart Foundation’s Heart Support Network after a recommendation from the hospital and when speaking of the group, she said: ‘Sometimes it’s nice to read the stories on it, to see if there are any similarities – it’s nice to know there are other people there.’
Now, three years on from her heart attack, Debbie shares her story as part of the Irish Heart Foundation’s Her Heart Matters campaign.
‘I have no problem talking about heart health to people, especially with women. When a woman is having a heart attack it can be completely different to a man. It can be mistaken for indigestion.
‘It’s important for women to know the symptoms and talk to their doctor about their heart health.’
