A woman who had a heart attack at the age of 32 says she ignored the symptoms at first, and it was a friend who told her she was seriously ill. Katelyn Jill, who posts on TikTok as @paydaywithkate, said she was getting ready for a party when she had the first signs and symptoms.
Katelyn said she got ‘super hot’ and began to sweat. She had pain in her arm and the muscles of her back felt tight. Katelyn said: “My friend was over helping me get ready for the party, everyone was on their way over, and we tried to pop my back [but] it didn’t help.”
The mum of two started to feel pain in her lower back. She said: “My back is killing me, my arm feels dead, I’m starting to lose all sensation in my hands, I’m sweating, my mouth feels numb, and all of a sudden [my friend] say: ‘Katelyn, you’re having a heart attack’.”
Katelyn checked her Apple watch, she added: “We did the heart odometer and it looked insane – I’ve never seen anything like it.” She was rushed to hospital by ambulance and had two operations to have stents fitted.
Katelyn was sent home and a week later had a second hear attack while running to the shops. She spent another week in hospital.
Katelyn, who hosts the Your Breakthrough podcast, said: “They told me it was a STEMI — better known as a heart attack.;” She added: “It was unrelenting pain between my shoulder blades and an intense sharp pressure and pain on my heart that’s hard to describe that lasted hours.”
One doctor told Katelyn she could have ‘broken heart syndrome’ or stress cardiomyopathy – damage to the heart linked to anxiety, stress and emotional pressure.