SURVIVOR'S STAGE

When Anglee Kumar, 27, from London, was given a shock diagnosis, she found a courageous way to tell her family...

-  MARIE GOODWIN, ELLIE FAWCETT

Panting at the top of the P Tube station's escalator after a busy day at work, I couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't quite right.

My heart was pounding erratically and it felt like something heavy was weighing down on my chest.

It was rush hour and people were pushing impatiently passed me to catch their tube home after work.

For the past few weeks, I'd been experiencing an irregular heartbeat and chest tightness multiple times a day.

This was unusual for me because I was the healthiest person I knew.

I had always cared about looking after myself and so had been going to the gym ever since I was 16, making sure to eat a healthy balanced diet, too.

As an active 26-year-old, I should have had no issues with my stamina so I knew it was something I would eventually have to stop ignoring.

The tipping point came one evening at home as I was helping my mum Mala, 43, tidy the house.

 

I'm finding it quite hard to breathe,' I said.

My heart palpitations had gotten even worse, and I felt like I couldn't properly breathe in and out.

After calling 111, I was advised to go to A&E.

I'll drive you,' Mum said.

Once we arrived, I was examined and prescribed some tablets for inflammation, yet they were quite vague about what kind of inflammation it could actually be.

But my symptoms persisted, and so I decided to book an appointment with my GP.

I was given a blood test but the doctor wasn't concerned at all.

'It's most probably nothing.' he said. I just suggest cutting down on caffeine and alcohol from now on.'

Something's wrong, I take great care of myself, I thought.

'I want to be referred to a cardiologist,' I said assertively to him.

I knew my body-through the most stressful times in my life I had never suffered from heart palpitations or had any sort of chest issues.

I had to trust my gut instinct.