Living with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome

Hi, I got diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome (WPW) after nearly dying giving birth to my son.

I had suffered with palpitations for years, but nothing was done about it. Then, whilst I was pregnant, the attacks became more frequent and when I told my doctor I was given a 24-hour heart monitor to wear. After wearing the monitor, I was told that I was fine, so I just carried on.

27 hours into labour, my heart started racing. I couldn’t breathe and my lungs started filling with fluid. I was rushed for an emergency c-section and my son had to be resuscitated as his heartbeat had dropped because there wasn’t any oxygen getting to him.

The next thing I knew, I was waking up in intensive care on a ventilator, being told I had this condition WPW. What a shock that was.

I was put on verapamil for 3 months, and then I had a catheter ablation – which I might add was very painful.

That was 3 and a half years ago, I have been fine since and so is my son.