Faith Harrison, a fitness coach from Shropshire, suffered a heart attack while driving home from a hockey match on January 6th, 2024, when she was just 22 years old. The heart attack lasted for seven hours, leading to emergency surgery and a diagnosis of heart failure. One year later, Ms. Harrison is now 23, and her life has completely changed.
Following the heart attack, Ms. Harrison discovered that she had two congenital conditions – a patent foramen ovale (PFO), which is a small hole between the top two chambers of the heart, and May-Thurner Syndrome, a condition that compresses a vein and makes it harder for blood to flow back to the heart. Her heart’s ejection fraction – the amount of blood leaving every time it squeezes – was at 27%, with 50% considered normal. Today, her heart’s ejection fraction is at 47%.
Despite being described as very healthy and fit by her doctors prior to the heart attack, Ms. Harrison has drastically altered her lifestyle since. She now deals with the trauma associated with the heart attack while still taking dozens of medications every day, including blood thinners. She is no longer lifting weights or playing hockey, instead opting for mat Pilates and reformer Pilates.
Ms. Harrison has also become an ambassador for the British Heart Foundation, raising awareness of women suffering from heart issues. She recently got engaged, qualified as a Pilates teacher, started teaching at a studio, and even began a podcast. While she has sacrificed a lot, she remains grateful for being given a second life and says she will celebrate the one-year anniversary of her heart attack by having a big heart cake with lots of hearts on it
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