"A ticking time bomb" - North Belfast sisters diagnosed with heart disease in their 20s

Two sisters from North Belfast have opened up on their experiences of being diagnosed with heart disease.

It comes as research from the British Heart Foundation shows women are less likely than their male counterparts to know the symptoms of heart disease, and less likely to get optimal treatment, with an estimated 26,000 women in Northern Ireland living with the condition.

Frances Kane and Mary Delaney were both diagnosed with heart disease when they were in their 20s. Frances was just 27 when she was diagnosed with coronary heart disease.

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At the time, she was studying for her PhD and when she went to the GP, she was told that the chest and arm pains she was experiencing were likely due to stress or allergies. Her dad had a heart attack when he was in his early forties, but Frances exercised regularly, ate well, maintained a healthy weight, and never smoked.

She brushed off her symptoms, including breathlessness, chest and arm pain which came on gradually and increased on extertion, talking it away as "niggles" or muscular pain.

Frances added: “To me, heart attacks were something that happened to older people. Because my dad was male, it didn’t seem rare to me that he had a heart attack, but I was never anticipating that I would be at risk.”

After not being able to walk up stairs without stopping, Frances decided to visit her GP, stating cardiac concerns. However, her GP said there were no issues with her heart, putting the pain down to allergies, sending her home with antihistamines.

Visiting her doctor again, she was told once more she was too young to have anything wrong with her heart, and instead received a lung function test, the results of which were normal. Frances knew her symptoms were related to something more serious, so a few months later, she went to the emergency department.

She said: “I went up and down the stairs in the hospital as many times as I could; to bring on the pain so I could show the doctors and nurses what I meant.”

Frances was referred to a cardiologist and sent for a treadmill ECG test. The test showed a minor abnormality so Frances was told she would be sent for a coronary angiogram.

“I was told that I would receive a coronary angiogram to rule out coronary heart disease and a heart attack but that was unlikely as I was a young woman," she added.

"I then felt that I was wasting their time. I was only referred to the cardiologist because I presented myself to the emergency department, not because my GP referred me.

“I then began to doubt myself, so I kept telling myself 'It’s just stress, it’s just stress.' I was in the second year of my PhD and convinced it was the pressure of my studies manifesting itself.”

When the results came back, the coronary angiogram showed a blockage in Frances’ artery. She explained: “I was told that my artery was 70% blocked and that I was on my way to a massive heart attack. That was very hard to hear when I was so young.

“I felt shocked. I then felt very sorry for myself. I went home and cried on the sofa and asked myself: why did this happen to me? The doctors always referred to my age and gender as a young woman to dismiss my concerns that my problem was heart related. My persistence when I knew myself that something wasn’t right, probably saved my life."

When Mary’s sister Frances was diagnosed with coronary artery disease, Mary was offered a stress echocardiogram. Although the results of the Echo showed no abnormalities at the time, three years after her sister’s diagnosis, at the age of 26 Mary was also diagnosed with coronary artery disease.

She was told by the doctor that she was a “ticking time bomb.” Mary had been treated for high blood pressure since she was 22 years old, but she was generally in good health.

"I was active, as an A&E nurse I was always on my feet.," she said. “I had symptoms for three weeks before I received a diagnosis. I had shortness of breath, chest pain on exertion but I dismissed the symptoms until I felt really unwell. Had it been a male patient in his 60s or 70s telling me of these symptoms, I would have known right away not to ignore it.”

Mary was at work in A&E when she told her colleagues how unwell she felt so she was referred to the consultant cardiologist.

She said: "When the consultant saw that a young female had been referred, they challenged the referral; the cardiologist queried why a 26-year-old female was being referred for review by cardiology. I wasn’t taken seriously. Because of my sister Frances’ diagnosis, the cardiologist agreed to see me."

Mary was sent for a treadmill test which showed ECG changes on exertion. She then proceeded to have an angiogram which showed 90% stenosis in her coronary artery, similar to her sister Frances, and had a stent fitted from the point of diagnosis.

If it hadn’t been for her sister Frances’ diagnosis and working in the hospital herself, Mary might not have been seen by the cardiologist and treated right away.

She said: “It was described as a ticking timebomb. If I hadn’t had the quick escalation due to Frances’ diagnosis, I would have been on my way to a massive heart attack."

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