‘Healthy’ schoolgirl, 17, ‘dies’ in front of terrified classmates after GP dismissed symptoms as ‘anxiety’
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Evelyn was assured her symptoms were nothing to worry about, but her doctor couldn't have been more wrong
TEENAGER Evelyn Walker was assured by doctors that her symptoms were caused by anxiety.
But two years later, the seemingly fit and healthy 17-year-old schoolgirl collapsed and ‘died’ in front of her terrified classmates.
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Sixth form student Evelyn began her day as normal on February 7 but started to feel unwell before her first lesson.
She was experiencing chest pains, nausea and fatigue and quickly collapsed in her form room.
Evelyn had gone into cardiac arrest; her heart had suddenly stopped beating and she wasn't breathing.
A teacher raced across the building to grab their on-site defibrillator while school staff desperately performed CPR.
The school’s medical officer then shocked an unconscious Evelyn twice in a frantic bid to restart her heart and bring her back to life.
Evelyn, a year 12 pupil, believes her heart stopped for five minutes before she was stabilised by paramedics from the East Anglian Air Ambulance and blue-lighted to Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge.
There, she was placed in a three-day coma and admitted for a month before being fitted with an internal defibrillator to prevent any similar incidents in the future.
Evelyn, who lives in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, says: “It was just a normal morning.
“I got up, had my breakfast, got ready, walked to school with my friend, but when I arrived at around 8.30am, I basically just collapsed.
“I felt fine that morning. Everything was normal until I started getting chest pains, began feeling sick and collapsed.
“I don't have any memories of the event. I completely blacked out.
“I just remember waking up in hospital a few days later.”
As soon as her petrified mum Jennifer and dad Nick heard what happened, they rushed to their daughter’s side.
Jennifer, 47, says: “It was the worst moment of my entire life.
“I was in bed asleep having a lie-in and heard my phone going then saw the word 'ambulance' on my phone.
“I just thought Evelyn had bumped her head or fallen over. Then the police were on my doorstep and I just thought she was dead.
“It was absolutely awful. I was screaming and screaming.
“Then when I realised she wasn't dead, I chucked some jeans on and we went to the school.
“I was in complete shock. Nothing like this had ever happened before.
“It was completely out of the blue. She's a healthy, vibrant young girl.”
Despite being ‘dead’ for five minutes straight, Evelyn miraculously made a full recovery.
Medics initially said there was no clear cause of the sudden cardiac arrest, but the schoolgirl believes she may have an underlying heart issue.
Evelyn had flagged chest pains to her GP two years earlier, but says they were dismissed as “anxiety” - though she wasn’t prescribed any medication.
After multiple tests, doctors now believe there may be abnormalities in Evelyn’s heart, but the medical cause of her cardiac arrest is still under investigation.
After being fobbed off by her GP, she is urging others to push medical professionals for answers when it comes to concerns about their health.
12 young people under 35 die each week in the UK from sudden cardiac arrest. Don't assume your symptoms are nothing
Jennifer Walker
Evelyn, who loves performing arts and does theatre outside of school, says: “I thought I was young and healthy and nothing like this would ever happen to me.
“The only indication that I had any issue was that I had mild chest pains.
“We went to the GP about it a couple of years ago but they just put it down to physical symptoms of anxiety and it never got investigated.
“We still don’t know if that was linked to my cardiac arrest, but I’m quite frustrated that I was brushed aside, probably just because I’m a young person.
“I’m sure if I was over 60 and complaining of chest pain, they would have looked into it further.
“Don’t just assume that doctors are right. You know your body better than anyone else.
“If you think something is off then don’t be afraid to push. Heart problems can affect anyone.”
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She adds: “My outlook on life has really changed.
“Now that this has happened, I just want to pursue the life that I want to live. I feel like I've been given a second chance.
“I want to take every opportunity that is handed to me, pursue a career in the creative arts and not be so afraid of failure.”
Jennifer, a bid consultant who has launched a Facebook page called Young Hearts UK to help raise awareness of sudden cardiac arrest in young people, wants more people to learn CPR and AED (Automated External Defibrillator) training in light of her daughter's episode.
A heart attack is not the same as a cardiac arrest.
A heart attack is when one of the coronary arteries becomes blocked. The heart muscle is robbed of its vital blood supply and, if left untreated, will begin to die because it is not getting enough oxygen.
A cardiac arrest is when a person’s heart stops pumping blood around their body and they stop breathing normally.
Many cardiac arrests in adults happen because of a heart attack. This is because a person who is having a heart attack may develop a dangerous heart rhythm, which can cause a cardiac arrest.
A heart attack and a cardiac arrest are both emergency situations.
A cardiac arrest is caused by a dangerous abnormal heart rhythm, which happens when the electrical system in the heart isn’t working properly.
Not all abnormal heart rhythms are life-threatening, but some mean that the heart cannot pump blood around the body.
If someone is in cardiac arrest, they collapse suddenly and:
- Will be unconscious
- Unresponsive, and
- Not breathing or not breathing normally – this may mean they’re making gasping noises.
Without immediate treatment, the person will die.
If you see someone having a cardiac arrest, phone 999 immediately and start CPR.
Source: NHS
She says: “If you have some sort of chest pain, get it looked into and don't just assume it's nothing.
“If [doctors] had just done a five-minute ECG, they would've seen Evelyn's results weren't normal.
“Sudden cardiac arrest is fairly rare for young people but not unheard of.
“In fact, 12 young people under 35 die each week in the UK from it.
“That's why we want people to know CPR and to know where their nearest defibrillator is.”
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If someone is unconscious, not breathing and has a weak or no pulse, call an ambulance and ask a bystander to find a defibrillator then start CPR
1. Lie the person flat on their back on the floor and remove anything from behind their head.
2. Kneel by their side. Put one hand flat in the middle of their chest and the other on top of it, locking your fingers together.
3. Lean over their chest and keep your arms straight to push directly down with your body weight.
4. Push hard on the chest about twice per second (in time to the tune of Stayin’ Alive by the Bee Gees) keeping your arms straight and aiming to squash it by 5cm to 6cm each time.
5. Keep going until paramedics arrive.
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