After feeling unwell and taking herself to A&E, Angie was found to have an increased heart rate. She had previously been diagnosed with a faulty gene, that can lead to cardiomyopathy, and had a pacemaker fitted.
Despite doctors using medication to slow her heart rate, the only way to return her heart to a normal rhythm was to shock her heart and prevent her from going into cardiac arrest or suffering a stroke. The faulty gene which Angie carries has been passed on to her son, and as such he has now had an internal defibrillator fitted (ICD).
More than 600,000 people in the UK have a faulty gene which puts them at high risk of heart disease or sudden death at a young age. With the help of donations, we’ve pinpointed the genes that cause many cardiomyopathies, and discovered that, just like in Angie’s story, many of them run in families and can be inherited.
Thanks to research funded by the British Heart Foundation, more people than ever are getting the diagnosis and treatment they desperately need. BHF Professor Hugh Watkins was behind the research that has led to a UK-wide roll-out of genetic testing for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) allowing families to get tested and treated for cardiomyopathy.
For further information on the conditions featured in Angie’s story, please use the links below:
- Inherited heart conditions, including inherited cardiomyopathy
- Pacemakers
- ICD devices