Two strangers share their heart attack experiences

Alan Atack and Natalie Duffin had their heart attacks 10 years apart. Alan, 67, from Sheffield, had a heart attack 15 years ago and over time has learnt to feel confident again. Natalie, 43, from Morecambe, had a heart attack five years ago and is still dealing with the anxiety it’s caused. We brought them together to share their experiences.

Alan and Natalie: Heart attack symptoms and treatment 

Alan: Heart problems run in my family. My uncle said, “If you get past your 50s, you’re doing well.” After my heart attack, I was put on a blood thinner and soon went back to work, but my angina pains returned. In hospital they asked me if I could walk without getting out of breath, and I thought, of course I can! Then I was tested and walked on a treadmill for a minute. I could barely breathe – I ended up having a quadruple bypass. 

Natalie: I’d been feeling tired for a few days. I was out for a walk on the beach with my two daughters, aged two and six. We were collecting shells and pebbles, and I was hit with this horrendous pain in my chest, through to my back and under my armpits, and I felt like I had a really bad hangover. I sat on a wall and said we had to go. I remember my daughter said: “No, Mummy, we just got here!”

I’d had a heart attack and was given two stents. My main artery was totally blocked. I had no existing conditions, and they still haven’t really given me an explanation. They just said that sometimes these things happen. I felt a lot of anxiety afterwards. Any pain in my neck and shoulders still really freaks me out, because that was the first pain when I had my heart attack.

Any pain in my neck and shoulders still really freaks me out, because that was the first pain when I had my heart attack.

Natalie Duffin

A: I can relate to that. Soon after my heart attack I felt a pain in my chest, so I used my GTN spray a couple of times. We ambled around a bit more to a café. I still had the pain, so I had another double spray. All of a sudden my vision just went, like watching TV if you pulled the cable out. We called an ambulance.

N: Did you think it was another heart attack?

A: Yeah – it wasn’t, maybe I’d just had too much spray! I learnt that that pain was nothing to do with my heart. You’ll just learn over time how to rule symptoms out. It doesn’t happen straight away.

N: You’re right. I remember the consultant saying: “Physically you’re fixed. It’s just mentally now.” For a couple of years I struggled, until my doctor put me on anti-anxiety medication, which I still take. My little one was only two when I had the heart attack, and used to come into my bed each morning – my biggest fear was what if she gets in one day and finds me dead? When I had the heart attack I was alone with my children; I felt vulnerable on my own.

A: I can understand that. When I first came out of hospital, and I’d got used to walking, I went into my village hairdresser. There was a queue and the anxiety was building up with the waiting. When it was my turn I sat down and I was a state. I said, “You’ll have to excuse me, love, I’ll come again tomorrow.” I was scared of being out of the house on my own, there was a sense of it building up. I think, looking back, it was a panic attack.

Growing in confidence: Alan explains to Natalie that confidence builds back up over time

Alan and Natalie: Heart attack recovery

N: I found cardiac rehab useful. I was the youngest by far and the only female. When I arrived, they asked me if I was the nurse. It was hilarious. But I thought it was really good, as after the exercises we’d sit round and have a chat. We’d still had the same experiences and concerns, and were all asking, “Why me?”

A: I know. I’ve always played sport and I’ve always been fit, and then you see a great big fella with a beef burger in one hand who’s had no problems. I had some small annoyances, mainly my competitiveness. I wanted to play sport again. My goal was to get back to the fitness I was at before my heart attack. Now I’m fit as anything, except it doesn’t always feel like it when I try to stand up out of a chair! It boosted my confidence to set myself little targets. When I first came out of hospital I couldn’t walk to the bottom of the drive. Then once I’d done that, I looked at the lamppost and tried to reach that.

I find that it helps a lot having people to talk to. My dad had gone through the same thing, and I could talk to him.

Alan Atack

N: It’s about having goals. My goal was to get back to work and normality.

A: I know someone who had a heart attack, and afterwards she was lying on the settee feeling sorry for herself and wouldn’t do anything. You can’t do that – it’s use it or lose it. I find that it helps a lot having people to talk to. My dad had gone through the same thing, and I could talk to him. It’s good to talk to somebody who’s been down that road. Once you get it in your head you can do these things, then you can.

N: I didn’t know anybody who’d had a heart attack. And there was nobody in my family who’d had a heart condition.

A: Each situation is different, but generally there’s always light at the end of the tunnel. Once you get your confidence back to do these things, you can really push yourself, and you can live a normal life again. 

Heart attack support 

If you’d like to talk to someone, you can find your local support group, call our Heart Helpline or join the BHF forum.