Helen was an international athlete, but found she had rare condition after suffering heart attack in swimming pool
LIFEGUARDS USED DEFIBRILLATOR AND PERFORMED CPR TO SAVE HER LIFE
A WOMAN who suffered a heart attack in a swimming pool found out she was living with a rare, inherited heart condition.
Helen Cawthorne, from Ilkeston, had a cardiac arrest in a pool on Valentine’s Day and was subsequently diagnosed with a condition known as arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC).
The now 61-year-old was previously a triathlon and duathlon competitor at an international level. She has since had to give up the sport and lives with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) to help control abnormal heart rhythms.
She said: “The quick actions of the lifeguards giving me CPR and using a defibrillator on me saved my life. Valentine’s Day is now my second birthday. My partner Mick and I say it’s the day that I lived, not the day I nearly died.
“After being diagnosed with my condition, I wondered if my life would ever be normal again. It took me a long time to get my confidence back. Gradually my confidence grew, and I returned to work.”
ARVC is a rare disease that causes fatty deposits to build up in the heart muscle. Helen was only diagnosed after her swimming pool heart attack back on Valentine’s Day in 2011.
This can disrupt the heart’s rhythm and increase the risk of a life-threatening cardiac arrest. There is currently no cure for the disease, but treatment appears to be on the horizon.
An injectable cure for inherited heart muscle conditions like the one Helen has could be available within a few years. This comes after an international team of researchers were announced as the winners of the British Heart Foundation challenge. The winning team, known as Cureheart, will seek to develop the first cures by pioneering revolutionary and precise gene therapy technologies that could edit or silence the faulty genes that cause these deadly conditions. Professor Sir Nilesh Samani, medical director at the British Heart Foundation, said: “This is a defining moment for cardiovascular medicine. Not only could Cureheart be the creators of the first cure for inherited heart muscle diseases by tackling killer genes that run through family trees, it could also usher in a new era of precision cardiology. “Once successful, the same gene editing innovations could be used to treat a whole range of common heart conditions where genetic faults play a major role. This would have a transformational impact and offer hope to the thousands of families worldwide affected by these devastating diseases.” Amid the pioneering discovery, Helen is remaining positive. She added: “As my heart condition is genetic, my two brothers are screened regularly. One good thing is that my two nieces and nephew are seeing me living with the condition and managing it. “ARVC is something that currently can’t be cured, but I’ve shown you can still have a life. I see life in a lot more detail now, and I’m not whizzing past like I used to. “This research funding gives me hope that a cure for inherited heart conditions, like the one I live with, is on the horizon.”
Valentine’s Day is now my second birthday. My partner Mick and I say it’s the day that I lived, not the day I nearly died.
Helen Cawthorne