A 22-year-old fitness coach, Faith Harrison, who endured a heart attack, has pledged to collaborate with the British Heart Foundation (BHF) to enhance awareness of the symptoms.

Harrison was swiftly taken to the hospital when she began feeling unwell after a hockey game in January.

Doctors informed the keen gym enthusiast from Shropshire that she had experienced a heart attack for seven hours.

Following an emergency procedure, Ms. Harrison was diagnosed with heart failure and has since urged young individuals not to underestimate life because they are not invincible.

She stated, “Having the heart attack and being informed I have heart failure has been life-changing. I had business goals, I had fitness goals, and I had life goals. Now my goals are very different because my physical and mental health have changed so much.”

Ms. Harrison recounted feeling odd on January 6 after the hockey match in Stafford.

As she embarked on the hour-long drive home, her arm began to feel numb and her chest tightened.

Concerned, she drove to her parents’ house, which was closer, and informed them something was amiss.

She was swiftly transported to the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford before being transferred to the Royal Stoke University Hospital via ambulance.

Examinations revealed that a blood clot was obstructing her left coronary artery by 90%, commonly known as a “widow-maker” heart attack.

Additionally, she was diagnosed with a patent foramen ovale (PFO), a small opening between the top two chambers of the heart.

This opening had enabled a typically harmless blood clot to travel to the artery and cause the obstruction.

Following an emergency thrombectomy to extract the blood clot, she was diagnosed with heart failure due to the severity of the attack.

Ms. Harrison expressed gratitude to the medical personnel and the BHF, who have aided in her recovery.

She raised £250 for the charity from her hospital bed and expressed her desire to make use of the second chance she had been given.

To achieve this, Ms. Harrison commenced raising awareness of the symptoms and her condition on social media.

“For me, I want to raise awareness among young people that they’re not invincible and advise them not to take life for granted,” she said.