Case studies

From searching the British heart foundation booklets, I was able to uncover case studies. Some of the most influential cases have been listed below. This allowed myself a more in depth knowledge upon how these events occur.

Rachel was told she had FH in 2010. 

“ My younger sister had a heart attack aged 48. I’d never had a problem with my heart, but my son John had high cholesterol and at times he was passing out. I used to be a dairy farmer and know how genes work so I asked my sister’s cardiologist if there could be a condition passing through my family. The cardiologist referred me to a consultant, who checked my hands and eyes for signs of high cholesterol and sent me to be tested for FH. It came back positive. The results were sent to John’s doctors and as a result he was tested and had emergency bypass surgery that probably saved his life.”

Yvonne, 54, had a heart attack after arriving at work one day.


"All of a sudden it felt as if someone had picked up a sledgehammer and whacked me in my chest. I stood for a few minutes. I could hardly speak, I could hardly breathe and within minutes I got all of these pains down my arms. I was sweating. People said: ‘You look awful’. I said: ‘If I wanted to be a drama queen I would say I’m having a heart attack’. I went to the doctor. I said to her I think I’ve got the strangest chest infection. She said there was nothing wrong with my chest and sent me to the hospital. I had a lot of tests for an hour and then I saw this doctor walking towards me with a wheelchair. My reaction was to start laughing. She said: ‘I don’t make jokes about things like that’ and asked me to get into the wheelchair. I was taken to the cardiac unit and had an angiogram. They felt that with lifestyle changes and medication I would be ok. I went to cardiac rehab, looked at my lifestyle and started eating more healthily.”