Pat Ward, 70, from Knotty Ash, was travelling by taxi from home to work at Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital (LHCH) last year when she began to feel unwell. She noticed a pain in her jaw, and from there the symptoms rapidly worsened.
Pat, who has worked at the hospital for five decades in various roles, from hygiene assistant to her current position leading the switchboard, recalled: "I arrived on switchboard and told my colleague Debbie that I felt unwell. By now I had jaw and chest pain which had gradually worsened, and it started to feel like my chest was caving in."
"I remember saying to Debbie, ‘I think I’m having a heart attack’, and the rest doesn’t feel real now. It was like a bad dream."
Emergency response triggered
Recognising the seriousness of Pat's condition, Debbie triggered an urgent response from specialists across the hospital. Among the first clinicians to arrive was Elcy Varughese, advanced nurse practitioner in cardiology.
Elcy said: "I knew when I saw Pat that she was having a heart attack and we took her straight to the Cath Lab (cardiac catheterization laboratory) where she was met by the specialist team."
They performed a complicated procedure to unblock Pat's coronary artery, to restore blood flow and minimise heart muscle damage. Thanks to the swift actions of the emergency team, including Dr Jonathan Hasleton, consultant cardiologist and Dr Hasan Ahmad, specialist registrar, Pat’s procedure was a success, and she has made a full recovery.
Full recovery and message to public
Dr Hasleton said: "Pat came to us at the point where minutes genuinely matter, and the reason she did so well is that the people around her recognised what was happening and acted straight away. Debbie on switchboard, the emergency team, the Cath Lab staff; every part of that chain worked. It has been a real pleasure to see her recovered and back at work."
"The message I would want people to take from Pat's story is not to wait. If you have chest pain, or pain in the jaw, neck or arms, particularly with breathlessness, nausea or sweating, call 999."
"People very often talk themselves out of it, and that delay is what does the damage."
Pat said: "At one point they had to restrict visiting on the ward because I had so many colleagues checking in to make sure I was ok – which was so lovely. The care was just fantastic – I was treated like a queen."
"The cardiac rehabilitation programme was brilliant and helped my recovery. It encouraged me to make small changes to become more active, move more and go on walks."
"I’ve always said to family and friends if I became ill, I would want to be treated at Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital. Lucky for me I was in the right place at the right time."
Signs you are having a heart attack
Ahead of World Heart Day, on Tuesday September 29, LHCH is encouraging people to be aware of the symptoms of a heart attack and to seek urgent medical help if they experience warning signs such as chest pain, discomfort in the jaw, neck or arms, shortness of breath, or sudden sweating.
