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After Near-Fatal Heart Attack at 27, Solihull Woman Fronts BHF Christmas Appeal

Her experience is now central to a BHF push for early detection through a new care pathway under study.

Overview

  • Neena Chauhan, now 40, is sharing how weeks of dismissed chest pain led to a sudden ‘crushing’ episode in 2013 that prompted an ambulance transfer to Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham.
  • Doctors immediately inserted a stent to open a blocked coronary artery, and she was told the rapid procedure likely averted cardiac arrest or death.
  • The near-death event triggered about two years of PTSD and severe avoidance before a gradual return to exercise following a restorative family holiday.
  • As part of her recovery and advocacy, she completed the British Heart Foundation’s November skipping challenge of 100 daily jumps, raising £628.
  • The BHF says researchers are evaluating a new care pathway, including a potential finger-prick test, to identify people at risk before a heart attack and is urging donations to fund the work.