It Wasn't a Chest Infection... It Was Heart Failure | Heart Failure Unfiltered

Katie went back to her GP every month for 15 months. Danny had 16 appointments in a year and nobody checked his blood pressure once. So why does heart failure take so long to spot?

In this first episode of a four-part series, Nick Hartshorne-Evans - founder and CEO of the Pumping Marvellous Foundation - sits down with Katie, Danny and Donna to talk about the part nobody prepares you for, getting the diagnosis. Between them they were told it was a chest infection, asthma, their pacemaker, their weight, their age and their mental health. Danny went private in the end and was told his cough was psychological. Donna was carrying so much fluid that her trousers burst while she was stocking a bottom shelf at work. Katie was blue-lighted to hospital and spent six weeks unconscious, so her parents were given the diagnosis instead of her.

They talk about how long it takes to be believed, whether a diagnosis at 26 gets taken as seriously as one at 70, and what they wish someone had said to them in that room. Danny wrote out his funeral arrangements at three in the morning. Three years on, he says his life has never been better.

No white coats. No jargon. Just people who've lived it.

In this episode:

00:00: Welcome and what this episode covers

01:43: Meet Katie, Danny and Donna

02:53: The symptoms you can't explain to yourself

09:48: A year, 16 appointments, no blood pressure check

12:14: Why we all explain the symptoms away

13:34: Is heart failure diagnosis ageist?

15:06: Why BEAT matters

16:03: The moment each of them was told

25:07: Catastrophe or relief?

28:38: Grieving the life you thought you'd have

32:14: What we wish we'd known on day one

38:05: Where to find support

🫀 If heart failure is part of your life, you don't have to face it alone.

The Pumping Marvellous Foundation is the UK's leading heart failure charity, patient-led, trusted, and here for you.

⚡ B.E.A.T. Breathlessness, Exhaustion, Ankle swelling, Time to tell your GP or nurse. If you have a combination of these, speak to your GP surgery. Heart failure is diagnosed with a simple blood test.

🔗 Visit: www.pumpingmarvellous.org

💬 Peer support, search "Help for Hearts" on Facebook and apply to join

💛 Donate £5 today and help someone feel less alone

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