BHF science helped keep me alive: Sarah’s story

Braving two surgeries as a child

Sarah Howell, from Berkshire, was born with the congenital heart condition Tetralogy of Fallot.

“My heart condition was diagnosed at birth, but the full extent of it wasn’t known until I was around two. I was small, and would get out of breath just crawling. Sometimes I would literally turn blue,” says Sarah, who is now 39.

Sarah had two open heart surgeries when she was three. “My earliest memories are of being in hospital,” she says. After that, she had a normal childhood.

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Discovering a leaky pulmonary valve

She later went to university, went travelling, and started her career as a brand consultant. “My heart condition didn’t hold me back,” she says. But by the time she was 26, Sarah was having palpitations and feeling unwell. The consultants confirmed that her pulmonary heart valve was leaking and that she would need another operation to replace it.

Learn more about heart valve disease

Picking the ideal time for surgery

It was at this time that Sarah met Dr Sonya Babu-Narayan, now a BHF Associate Medical Director, at the Royal Brompton Hospital, where she is a consultant cardiologist. Her specialism is in adults living with congenital heart disease.

Dr Babu-Narayan carried out an MRI scan of Sarah’s heart, to help determine when would be the best time to have the surgery.

“They didn’t want it to be too early, as that could compromise my quality of life at that time, but they also didn’t want to operate too late as I could deteriorate more,” explains Sarah. “Sonya was instrumental in working out when the best time for surgery was.” Sarah’s pulmonary valve was replaced with a tissue valve.

Looking to the future

Once she had recovered, Sarah was able to get back to an active life. She works full-time and got married last year. She says: “Over the last few years I’ve been going to the gym and keeping fit.

Last time I had a check-up, they told me: ‘Your heart is comparable to someone of your age who’s never had heart surgery’. Hearing that was amazing, as I know it puts me in the best possible position for starting a family in the future.”

BHF-funded research gives Sarah confidence in the future: “I know that the work Sonya has done will have a positive impact on my future health.”