‘I thought it was indigestion and an ambulance was a waste of money’

Married with five children, Dianne Tanner was 53 when she had a heart attack in 2017. She trains in health and social care and lives near Hythe, Kent.

‘Ihad niggling indigestion, like heartburn in pregnancy, and only called 111 to ask for advice to see if I could take another lansoprazole, a drug my GP had given me the day before [to reduce stomach acid]. A heart attack never crossed my mind. When they sent an ambulance I complained, “No wonder the NHS is in a state if they’re sending ambulances for heartburn.”

I didn’t mention an ache in my jaw because I thought it was due to a filling. An ECG didn’t show anything, but I have type 2 diabetes and, because my blood sugar had shot up, they took me to hospital with suspected sepsis. My pain level out of 10 was between 1.5 and 2. A second ECG showed I’d had a cardiac event. I asked, “Does that mean I’ve had a heart attack?” When the nurse said yes, I went to the waiting room to get my husband, so I could make sure I’d heard it right. I had two stents fitted in one artery and one in another that was partially blocked. I went home after four days and was back to work within 10.

As manager of a care service, I’d sometimes do 18-hour days and eat on the go. I took a new job working part time, cut processed food from my diet and dropped over a stone without trying. I look younger and have more energy. If it had been my children or my husband, I’d have called 999. I want women to know heart attacks can happen to them, too.’