Woman, 24, who thought she was just having panic attacks told she needs major surgery

A student who put episodes of heart palpitations down to panic attacks discovered she actually has a serious heart condition.

Fit and healthy Megan Colvill, 24, was shocked to learn she needs major surgery after enduring three episodes of heart palpitations, which left her feeling 'faint and dizzy.' One spell lasted for more than an hour and made her feel breathless, landing her in A&E.

Maggie, from Sheffield, initially put the sensations down to anxiety but admits she had never struggled with it before, reports YorkshireLive. Maggie said: "I'd had palpation attacks a few times before but they only last a few minutes so I just put it down to being some form of anxiety. But then in April I had one that lasted for an hour and a half, that's when I knew something wasn't right.

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"I thought I was going to die, I couldn't catch my breath - that's when I went to A&E. It was terrifying, I thought I was going to pass out, my parents were in New York and so I was worrying that my little sister was going to be the one to find me. Everyone was telling me that it was probably panic attacks but I'm not somebody who has ever suffered with anything like that."

Maggie attended A&E and after further testing she was diagnosed with Wolf Parkinson White syndrome, a heart condition which requires urgent surgery. However, the risks associated with the operation means that Maggie could die in theatre.

WPW means that Maggie has a hole in one of the chambers of her heart, which causes an overload of electrical currents leading to the scary palpitation attacks she has been experiencing. Maggie continued: "I was really shocked when I got the