'I knew something was wrong on my family trip - I was right to trust my gut'

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

Karen Molloy was on holiday in Scotland when she felt an overwhelming sense of dread. The 57-year-old was hit by a sudden wave of nausea and light-headedness while preparing for a day of white-water rafting.

The mum-of-three, who was just 40 at the time, decided to ignore the symptoms and enjoy the rest of her family trip. But just a week later, Karen was showering when the familiar lightheaded feeling returned along with pain in her neck. READ MORE: Tragedy of mum, 39, who went to bed with period pains and never woke up Karen, from Swinton, went to A&E and was told she most likely had some bad indigestion.

However, doctors decided to check her over just to be safe. To her horror, it was discovered the Karen had actually suffered a heart attack. “I was told by the cardiologists that those things that happened to me in Scotland were warning signs,” she told the Manchester Evening News. “The actual heart attack happened when I went to hospital. “The reason I’m happy to share my story is because often heart attacks don’t show like they do on TV where people collapse. “For some people it feels like that, but lots of people will have heaviness, tightness, radiating or discomfort.

It’s just about trying to recognise those symptoms. My intuition was that something wasn’t right. There was something telling me.” Karen, who works as a health visitor for the NHS, stayed in hospital for a few days before being sent home with medication, which she will need to take for the rest of her life.