KIWI ADVENTURER'S HEALTH CRISIS 'MY HEART BROKE ON VALENTINE'S DAY!

Wānaka blogger Liz Carlson has embraced a less stressful lifestyle after suffering a heart attack at 31

Three years ago on Valentine's Day, successful travel blogger Liz Carlson was checking emails over a morning coffee when a feeling of doom suddenly washed over her.

The terrifying sensation was followed by crushing pain across her chest, neck and shoulders, which made its way into her jaw and down her arms. Struggling to breathe, the 31-one-year collapsed to the floor, dry-heaving from the agony. Liz, who was boarding 100 flights a year at the time, had suffered a minor heart attack.

"When I felt swamped by complete doom, I thought I was going to die," says Wänaka-based Liz, 34, who has amassed over 20,000 followers thanks to her solo female travel blog Young Adventuress. "It was so weird. I later learnt it's common with heart attacks.

"I didn't recognise the pain and wondered if my back was cramping. After it eased, I put it down to stress, but my partner at the time said I should go to the emergency centre." Virginia-born Liz spent an entire day at her local emergency centre having tests done before being sent home. That same evening, she received a call saying she needed to go to hospital immediately, since she had an abnormality with her chest.

"I didn't think it could be my heart," admits Liz, who had no family history of heart disease.

"I spent about six hours at the hospital with big IVs strapped to my chest and when I said I wanted to leave because I'd had no answers, a doctor came in and told me I couldn't because I'd had a minor heart attack!"