'Fit and well' mum suddenly collapses in her kitchen leading to awful diagnosis

A 'fit and well' mum who suddenly collapsed on her kitchen floor discovered she had a serious heart condition

Sophie Elliott, from Chapel-en-le-Frith, Derbyshire, was a law student living with then-boyfriend Mark when she experienced 'the worst chest pain ever' and collapsed. She was rushed to hospital, where doctors diagnosed her with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome - which happens when there is an extra electrical connection in the heart and causes the heart to beat abnormally fast.

The mum-of-two's life became 'dominated' by her heart condition, which left her unable to drive for three years or toast her 21st birthday as she wasn't allowed to drink. But, despite her setbacks Sophie bravely plans to run the London marathon after years of 'strict' restrictions on her lifestyle.

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“I had three years of being quite strict and losing out on a lot of what I felt as a 21-year-old I should be doing because I had to be so careful as they weren’t sure how bad things could get," she said.

Sophie said earlier in her life, there had been signs there was something wrong with her heart. She'd experienced chest pains as she was growing up, but these had been put down to panic attacks or anxiety.

After a few years Sophie had an ablation, which is a procedure that corrects abnormal heart rhythms by blocking electrical pathways in the heart, to treat the condition. Along with medication, the treatment meant Sophie and Mark could get to the point where they were ready to start a family.

She sadly suffered two miscarriages before becoming pregnant with her first child, Grace. Doctors have not been able to tell her whether her miscarriages were related to her heart