I thought I was just tired and run down from work… I had no idea they were warning signs I was on the brink of death
FEELING tired and 'run down', superfit Emma Houldsworth just pushed through, blaming her exhaustion on working 13-hour days.
Little did she know they were the only warning signs that something horrendous was about to happen to her, at the age of just 43.
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She was just yards from her front door, having just taken her dog Pedro for a walk, when disaster struck.
The personal trainer was forced to sit down on the pavement due to sheer exhaustion before she 'blacked out' and stopped breathing.
'It turned into the dog walk from hell,' Emma tells Sun Health.
Her partner, Paul Tilley, sprang into action, performing CPR - breaking three of Emma's ribs in the process.
'I'm just so grateful he acted so quickly,' Emma says. 'If he didn't, I wouldn't be here now.'
A passing off-duty nurse rushed to help, as did a stranger, who ran to fetch a defibrillator.
The nurse took over from Paul and continued CPR, while another member of the public looked after the couple's pug.
An ambulance crew arrived at the scene and, after being shocked with the defibrillator three times, Emma's heart started beating again.
The mum-of-two, from Leeds, was rushed to Leeds General Infirmary, where she was placed in intensive care.
Emma was discharged on May 10, having discovered she had a cardiac arrest - which is when the electrical system of the heart stops.
What is the difference between a heart attack and cardiac arrest?
The cause was an irregular heartbeat. An abnormal heart rhythm (arrhythmia) can lead to a cardiac arrest, but many people may be unaware they have one. The most common type is atrial fibrillation.
Emma has since had an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) fitted - a small device that monitors her heartbeat and can deliver a shock if her heart stops again.
Emma said: "It's just that extra insurance that if it does happen again, then I'll be OK.
"If it happened if I was home alone, or when I'm with my daughter, or if I'm out and about and people don't know CPR then it would just automatically give me the shocks that you would get from a defibrillator."
'I was fit and healthy'
Emma, who describes herself as 'really fit and healthy', believes stress, long hours and ignoring symptoms contributed to the life-threatening event.
The weight of daily stress can't directly cause an event like cardiac arrest or heart attack, but it may contribute indirectly, and may be more dangerous for those with an existing heart issue.
In the days leading up to her collapse, Emma says she felt unusually exhausted but kept pushing through, chalking it up to her physically demanding job.
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She says: "I'm really healthy, I really look after myself. I eat really well and exercise regularly.
"I often work 13-hour days, and I'm quite stressed a lot of the time. I wasn't prioritising my own self-care, all of the things that I encourage my clients to do.
"You can't just brush things off when you're busy, or try and push through when you're run down."
Emma also believes she had warning signs before her cardiac arrest.
These can sometimes be chest pain, sweating, shortness of breath and seizures, research shows.
Emma says: 'In the days beforehand, I was feeling pretty run down and tired but I didn't listen to my body and just pushed through it.
"They were the only kind of warning signs that things weren't right.'
'It could have been really different'
Emma says she and Paul often go hiking in remote areas where there's no one around — but that day they were just up the road from their house, surrounded by people who could help.
'Without all of those people working together, it would have been a very different story,' she says.
'Sometimes we'll go hiking in the mountains where we're far away from people, so luckily we were in the street just up from where we live.
'I'm just so grateful. It's like it was meant to be that that nurse was passing at the time.
'There are lots of circumstances where things could have been really different - it's just really lucky that things happened the way they did on that day.'
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How to give CPR to an adult
Check for a response. Firmly shake the person's shoulders and loudly ask if they're okay.
Call 999. If the person is unconscious and not breathing, or not breathing normally, start CPR.
If there is someone with you, ask them to find a defibrillator [the 999 call handler will tell you where to find the nearest one].
Start chest compressions.
With the heel of your hand in the centre of their chest, press down smoothly and firmly at a rate of two per second. Try pushing to the beat of Stayin' Alive by the Bee Gees.
Use a defibrillator as soon as you can. Follow its instructions carefully while you continue to give CPR.
Source: the British Heart Foundation
The experience has been a wake-up call. Emma now plans to cut down her working hours, spend more time with loved ones, and focus on rest and recovery.
She says: 'I want to work less hours and concentrate on making sure that I'm getting enough rest.
'I also want to concentrate on my training, getting out on walks, going to yoga and spending time with the people I love — all of the things that I enjoy.'
'Prioritise yourself'
She hopes her story will raise awareness that cardiac arrest can happen to anyone — no matter how healthy you are - and urges others not to ignore the signs when something doesn't feel right.
'It's taught me that you can't just brush things off when you're busy, or try and push through when you're run down,' she says.
'If something's feeling off, then it probably is. It's about prioritising yourself and not just looking after other people all the time - making sure you're looking after yourself too.
'I always thought that when people have heart problems it just affected old people, or that it was from years of smoking and drinking or not looking after themselves.
'I love walking, hiking and training. I eat well and I do look after myself so I never thought that anything like that would happen to me.'
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Heart attack vs cardiac arrest
A heart attack is not the same as a cardiac arrest.
A heart attack is when one of the coronary arteries becomes blocked. The heart muscle is robbed of its vital blood supply and, if left untreated, will begin to die because it is not getting enough oxygen.
A cardiac arrest is when a person's heart stops pumping blood around their body and they stop breathing normally.
Many cardiac arrests in adults happen because of a heart attack. This is because a person who is having a heart attack may develop a dangerous heart rhythm, which can cause a cardiac arrest.
A heart attack and a cardiac arrest are both emergency situations.
A cardiac arrest is caused by a dangerous abnormal heart rhythm, which happens when the electrical system in the heart isn't working properly.
Not all abnormal heart rhythms are life-threatening, but some mean that the heart cannot pump blood around the body.
If someone is in cardiac arrest, they collapse suddenly and:
Will be unconscious
Unresponsive, and
Not breathing or not breathing normally – this may mean they're making gasping noises.
Without immediate treatment, the person will die.
If you see someone having a cardiac arrest, phone 999 immediately and start CPR.
Source: NHS
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