Setting off on a run, Peta didn’t feel so good…
Tying up my laces, I set off for a 5k run.
Since having my daughter, Ellie, 20 years earlier, I’d suffered with high blood pressure.
Straightaway, I’d quit smoking and started exercising.
Aged 38, I still had days where I didn’t feel well within myself, and a couple of months ago, I’d popped to my GP.
But I was told no one was available to see me and that
I’d be prescribed a different contraceptive pill. And that was it. I’d hoped they’d have examined me further.
Soon after, I contracted Covid, and was out of action for two months.
But today I was determined to go for a run.
I’d spent the morning cleaning my house which
had left me feeling exhausted and, for some reason, nauseous too.
Maybe my asthma is playing up, I’d thought.
So, I eased myself into
my jog.
Only as I got going, I began to feel breathless.
A strange pain shot down my left arm too.
I tried to shake it off, but then my nausea got worse.
Covid has really done a number on me, I thought.
I managed to complete my 5k, but returning home, I took some paracetamol for my
arm pain as well as some Rennie tablets in case I had indigestion.
Launching myself on to my bed, my cat Winnie nudged me and wouldn’t leave my side.
It was so out of character.
Was my kitty trying to tell
me something?
Later, Ellie and I drove into town, but I started feeling worse and called 111.
‘I feel clammy and there’s tingling down my left arm,’
I explained.
‘We’re sending an ambulance to you,’ the operator replied.
‘Oh, that’s not needed – I don’t want to waste their time,’ I said.
But one was on
its way.
Once paramedics arrived, they did an ECG and gave me some aspirin.
‘We need to get you to the hospital,’ one told me. ‘We think you’re having a heart attack.’
‘I can’t be – I’m only 38,’
I replied.
My husband, Toby, was abroad for work, so Ellie phoned him en route to the hospital.
‘I’m sure it’s not a heart attack,’ I said, trying to reassure her.
At the hospital I underwent scans and tests.
Later, a doctor visited me with news.
‘You are having a heart attack,’ he explained.
Am I going to die? I fretted, as the tears streamed down my face.
I was transferred to a nearby hospital where an angiogram confirmed I’d suffered a spontaneous cardiac artery dissection, also known as a SCAD. It meant that I had a tear in my artery.
It was not known what caused a SCAD, but it was more common in women and thought that it could be due to hormonal fluctuations.
My contraceptive pill had recently been changed, and I had started my period earlier that day too, so it made sense.
I wondered if Winnie detected I was in danger and that’s why she was fussing over me.
I was put on blood thinners, beta blockers and blood pressure medication and forced to rest up so the tear could heal.
After undergoing six weeks of cardiac rehabilitation, I started training for the Bournemouth 5k to raise money for the British Heart Foundation.
I was so proud when I hit
my goal of finishing in under
40 minutes!
Since then, I have been raising money for the Beat SCAD charity too.
My message to others is to check your blood pressure and be your own self-advocate if you feel something is wrong.
There’s a chance I could suffer a SCAD again, but I’m focused on remaining positive and living life as if each day could be my last.