Neena Chauhan was a regular gym-goer when she was rushed to Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital with chest pains
Neena Chauhan(Image: BHF/Neena Chauhan)
A woman from Solihull has shared how suffering a heart attack in her 20s has shaped her life.
Neena Chauhan had experienced chest pains for weeks but had not sought emergency treatment until she felt a ‘crushing’ pain in her chest.
She was rushed to Queen Elizabeth Hospital by ambulance from her family home after her mum and siblings witnessed her writhing in agony and sweating profusely during the heart attack in 2013.
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Neena, now 40, said that it felt like ‘an elephant was sitting on me’. This was accompanied by severe pins and needles down her left arm.
The health and fitness influencer underwent an immediate procedure on arrival at hospital to fit a stent to open her blocked artery.
Neena Chauhan(Image: BHF/Neena Chauhan)
She said: “If they hadn’t done it there and then I was told I could have died as my heart attack might have led to a cardiac arrest.
“I knew how lucky I was to be alive and I’m so grateful for the fast response of the ambulance crew and the medical team at the hospital, but it was such a terrifying time. I came so close to death that it severely affected my mental health for two years I suffered with PTSD.
“I was scared to leave my room and would just sit and not want to face the world or do anything that might strain my heart. The truth was that I wasn’t doing my heart or mind any good just sitting there.
“The turning point came when I came back from a holiday with my family and friends to Marbella. I looked at the photos and barely recognised myself. I knew I had to take back control and start living again.
“For me it was really important to get back to my gym routine – slowly at first – and to regain the person I’d lost.”
A heart attack happens when one of the coronary arteries, which supply blood to the heart, becomes blocked or severely narrowed. This leads to a sudden loss of blood flow to part of the heart muscle which causes its cells to die and can lead to cardiac arrest.
Neena is supporting the British Heart Foundation (BHF) Christmas campaign ‘A Gift That Keeps On Living’ urging people to donate to help fund lifesaving research into cardiovascular disease including conditions like heart attack and stroke.
Researchers are investigating whether a new care pathway, including tools like a finger prick test, could identify people at risk of having a heart attack This research could allow doctors to spot people at risk, meaning they could have treatment before the heart attack happens
Dr Charmaine Griffiths, Chief Executive at BBHF, said: “Neena is one of so many people across the UK whose Christmas wish is for treatments and cures that we just don’t have yet.
“Groundbreaking research funded by BHF has helped improve and save the lives of many people with cardiovascular disease, but our job is not done. The more we can discover, through the public’s donations, the more lives can be saved – and give people like Neena many more Christmases with their loved ones.”
Neena has just completed the BHF’s November skipping challenge where she skipped 100 jumps a day throughout the month and raised a further £628 to help fund lifesaving research.