Understand
Woman who was clinically dead for 10 minutes raises awareness of genetic heart condition
Overview
Sandra McCartney, a 59-year-old from Londonderry, suffered a cardiac arrest and heart attack while on holiday in Spain on New Year's Eve 2019, remaining clinically dead for 10 minutes before medics revived her with six defibrillator shocks and five shots of adrenaline. Her ordeal was triggered by familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH), an undiagnosed genetic condition causing high cholesterol. Northern Ireland currently operates a screening service for FH to test relatives of diagnosed individuals, achieving the highest identification rate in the UK.
Key points
- Sandra McCartney was clinically dead for 10 minutes after going into cardiac arrest while on holiday in Spain in December 2019.
- Her cardiac arrest and heart attack were triggered by familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH), a genetic condition she was previously unaware she had.
- FH causes high cholesterol and increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes, affecting an estimated one in every 250 to 500 people.
- Northern Ireland operates a specialist screening service that contacts and tests relatives of people diagnosed with FH, giving it the highest identification rate in the UK.
- Following her collapse, Sandra spent 11 days ventilated in a Spanish hospital, suffered from PTSD, and now has an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) fitted.