When Faith felt a sense of impending doom it was dismissed as a ‘panic attack’ – she had just a 12% chance of surviving

FITNESS coach Faith Harrison was feeling healthier than ever when she drove over an hour to play in a hockey match, proceeding to sprint around the pitch, assist in two goals, and smash the opposing team.

Little did she know that just hours later she'd be left battling for her life after suffering a heart attack known as a 'widowmaker'.

Her partner Sam Phillips realised life is far too short so, just weeks after Faith's recovery, popped the question - and the pair will be tying the knot next year.

Faith, 23, who lives in Shrewsbury, said: "It made Sam realise that tomorrow isn’t guaranteed, so he decided to ask me to marry him.

"It’s unusual to deal with a life-threatening event like this at such a young age, and it really made us both think about what is important in life."

After the match on January 6 last year, the then 22-year-old got in her car and felt a sense of "impending doom".

She said: "In the morning before the match I’d felt unwell, and I’d put it down to being anxious about the match.

"But I didn’t feel better afterwards, and when we had tea and cakes after the match I just felt so sick.

"I was getting cold and agitated and just felt like I needed to get home.

"But as I got in the car and drove off, I just felt this sense of impending doom.

"It was like nothing I’d ever experienced before, it was like I’d been told I was going to die.

"I started being sick as I was trying to drive home, and I was going in and out of consciousness.

"I managed to drive to my parents house and told them I wasn’t feeling well. I was being sick again, and grey and I was in pain from head to toe.

"I wasn’t someone that got sick easily, colds usually lasted one day for me."

Her parents rang 111 and was told that despite chest pain, vomiting and tingling in both arms, her symptoms sounded like a panic attack and that she couldn’t have an ambulance sent to her.

So her parents took her to A&E where initially doctors said it sounded like she had a stomach bug.

But they did an ECG and blood tests, and then gave her devastating news.

She said: "The doctor carrying out the ECG suddenly ran out the room.

"It showed the word ‘abnormality’ flashing on the screen and I had no idea what was happening.

"Then doctors appeared in my room and told my dad that I was having a major heart attack and needed emergency surgery or else I was going to die.

"It was terrifying. I couldn’t take it in. It was only afterwards that I found out I only had a less than 12 per cent chance of surviving."

Faith, a fitness coach, was transferred to Stoke Hospital where tests revealed a blood clot was blocking one of her coronary arteries and that she had been having what’s known as a 'widowmaker' heart attack for the last seven hours.

She was lucky to be alive.

Studies suggest that only 12 per cent of people who suffer a 'widowmaker' outside of hospital survive.

Faith was also diagnosed with a patent foramen ovale (PFO) - a small hole between the top two chambers of the heart, which usually closes after birth.

In very rare cases, a PFO can allow a normally harmless blood clot to reach a coronary artery and create a blockage, leading to a heart attack.

Faith had an emergency thrombectomy - a procedure to remove a blood clot from an artery.

Unfortunately, the damage to her heart during her attack was so severe that she now has heart failure, meaning her heart doesn't pump blood around the body effectively.

She said: "I didn’t realise it that my risk of sudden cardiac arrest was way higher than a normal person in those first few months.

"I now live with heart failure due to severe damage to my left ventricle and dead heart tissue that will never heal.

"I was denied proper medical care for nearly seven hours."

Heart attacks can affect anybody, but women in the UK are dying unnecessarily from heart disease - the leading cause of heart attack - because of the misconception that it is a ‘man’s disease.’

Heart disease is a broad term that includes conditions such as angina, heart failure, arrhythmia and coronary heart disease (CHD), the main cause of heart attacks.

CHD is the biggest killer worldwide in both men and women, according to the British Heart Foundation (BHF).

In the UK it kills more than 23,000 women every year, double the amount of breast cancer deaths and 45,000 men.

The BHF has supported Faith throughout her recovery.

"It’s been comforting to know the charity is there for me whenever I need it as a resource of support," Faith, who raised £250 from her hospital bed," said.

"Their leaflets were a lifeline to me, and I’ve used the Heart Helpline to learn more about cardiac rehabilitation.

"I also want to thank the cardiologists at Royal Stoke University Hospital for taking such good care of me."

At such a young age, Faith is determined not to let her heart attack define her.

She hosts a podcast, Shut the Fount Door, and founded Heart and Harmoney Wellness to educate women about heart health and beneficial lifestyle habits.

She said: "I decided I couldn’t - and I shouldn’t - live my life in fear or anxiety."

In September, to celebrate her surviving the heart attack, boyfriend Sam, 26, popped the question.

She said: "We have been together for seven years, we met when I was 16 and he was 19. I’ve been wanting to get engaged of ages, but we never got around to it.

"Doctors discovered that I have a condition that causes compression on one of my heart veins and it causes my blood to clot, which caused the clot that blocked my main artery leading to the heart attack.

"I won’t be able to fall pregnant as it would be too risky, so we have got a little sausage dog instead.

"We’ve been through such a lot together that Sam decided it was time to pop the question. It was a lovely surprise."

The couple are now planning their wedding for 2026, and are looking forward to their future together.

Faith added: "What happened to me was rubbish, but I’ve been given a second chance and I want to do something with it.

"For me, I want to raise awareness with young people that they’re not invincible and tell them not to take life for granted.

"Everyone, even young people, needs to learn the symptoms of a heart attack so they don’t delay seeking help. It could be lifesaving.