Big fright for a 17 -year -old teenager and her entourage. Evelyn Walker, a high school student from Cambridge, collapsed in front of her comrades on February 7. And only returned to her after several defibrillator shocks given by her teachers. A risk that his doctor had not been able to see.
He is told that his pain is anxiety
However, for two years, Evelyn worried about her heart. The reason? Chest pain that is repeated. “We consulted a general practitioner on this subject a few years ago, but he simply attributed the problem to physical symptoms of anxiety and has never been requested any exams” she delivers in the Dailymail.
A forgetfulness or a bad diagnosis that could have cost him his life that morning. “It was a normal morning. I got up, I had my breakfast, I walked to school with my friend, then, when I arrived at school around 8:30 am, I collapsed”says Evelyn.
His age is not playing in his favor
Shocked twice by his teachers and the school doctor, his heart restarts after about 5 minutes. Evelyn is transported urgently to the hospital. It is placed in a three -day coma and hospitalized for a month before being equipped with an internal defibrillator to regulate the heart rate and prevent similar incidents in the future.
“I am quite frustrated that I was simply told that it was anxiety, simply because I am young. I am sure that if I was over 60 years old and that I complained of chest pain, we would have deepened the question” she testifies today, out of danger.
“If (the doctors) had simply carried out an electrocardiogram – ECG – of five minutes, they would have seen that the results of Evelyn were not normal” Add his mother.
How to distinguish a crisis of anguish from signs of cardiac arrest
Sudden cardiac arrest is quite rare among young people, but not unprecedented. Indeed according to the media, 12 young people under 35 die every week in the United Kingdom of a sudden cardiac arrest. But the fact that it is a teenager has considerably complicated things …
“In this context, distinguishing an anxiety (or panic attack) from a heart problem (like a infarction) is crucial, because the symptoms can be similar” Dr. Gérald Kierzek, emergency artist and medical director of True Medical. Here’s what you need to know.
The typical signs of an anxiety attack
The anxiety attack, or panic attack, occurs suddenly, often in reaction to stress or phobia. It manifests itself by:
- Chest pain : felt as a tightening, tingling or a ball in the chest, located and non -radiant;
- Respiratory disorders : impression of lacking air, hyperventilation, feeling of suffocation;
- An accelerated heart rate : regular but fast palpitations;
- Other physical manifestations : tremors, cold sweats, dizziness, tied throat, feeling of loss of control.
- A limited duration : Symptoms reach their peak in a few minutes and generally disappear in less than 30 minutes.
Signs of a heart problem (infarction)
Conversely, a myocardial infarction often settles without an immediate stressor and has more alarming signs:
- Severe chest pain : in noose, oppressive, sometimes radiating towards the left arm, jaw or back;
- Sudden shortness of breath : can occur even at rest, without apparent cause;
- An irregular pulse : accompanied by a feeling of weakness or discomfort;
- Other associated symptoms : nausea, vomiting, abundant and cold sweats, pallor, stunning;
- Persistent pain : which does not give in after a few minutes, even intensifies.
Risk factors include cardiac history, hypertension, diabetes or smoking.
In doubt: call to 15.
It is better to consult too much than not enough: an ECG (electrocardiogram) or a blood test (troponin) will rule out any cardiac risk.