East Kilbride mum reveals domestic abuse left her with broken heart syndrome

A woman from South Lanarkshire says the severe stress of giving evidence in court against her abusive ex-partner led to her being admitted to hospital with broken heart syndrome.

Kayleigh Brady, who has waived her right to anonymity, was in an abusive relationship for more than three years with Andrew Dolan.

She says she was “physically and emotionally” abused by Dolan, who was convicted last month and given 200 hours of unpaid work and a five-year non-harassment order against Kayleigh.

The East Kilbride mum led a fit and active lifestyle, but she says her life has completely changed after the stress of giving evidence in court in January against him saw her spending six days in hospital.

Kayleigh told STV News: “I was extremely nervous. I could feel a tightness in my chest, but I’d felt that pain before and thought it was just anxiety.

“But as the day went on, it just got worse. I gave my statement and I went home. It just wouldn’t go away.

“So, I went to bed, and woke up at five in the morning, and it was such a bad pain that travelled up to my jaw and around my shoulder.

“I said to my mum, I need to go to the hospital, this isn’t right.”

Kayleigh Brady led a fit and active lifestyle and loved hill climbing Supplied

Initially, doctors couldn’t put their finger on why a seemingly fit and healthy woman was having severe chest pains which prevented her from standing up.

But after she had blood tests, Kayleigh was diagnosed with takotsubo cardiomyopathy or more commonly known as “broken heart syndrome”.

The serious condition, which mimics the symptoms of a heart attack and can be fatal, affects thousands of people across the UK every year.

It can occur when someone experiences severe physical or emotional stress.

Kayleigh said: “They admitted me straight away. They weren’t sure what was wrong because I am 36, I don’t smoke, I have never taken drugs.

“They thought maybe it was a blood clot in my lungs at first, but once my blood tests came back, it showed I had heart damage.

“So, it was then I was getting treated for a heart attack. I had to stay in the hospital for six days. It was quite scary. I was scared for my life at that point.”

Kayleigh was discharged from hospital and spent the next three months on heart medication.

However, the chest pain didn’t go away for the first two months, and she says she still struggles with a debilitating fatigue.

She said: “I did have to phone an ambulance one night because it was getting worse again.

“I was worried it was happening again because I had to go back to court to finish off my evidence.

“I pretty much spent the first four weeks on my couch and in my bed and my physical fitness had just completely gone.

“I’m back at the gym now but I am still not myself. It has knocked my confidence a lot.

“I was a very fit person, above average. I like to look my best, feel my best and that has been stripped away from me.

“I know I will get it back, but it’s a process and it’s really upsetting that I have had go through it.”

‘It’s peace of mind’ – mum takes part in clinical trial

Now, though, Kayleigh is taking part in a new clinical trial of medication for the long-term management of the condition for which there is currently no treatment for.

She is one of almost 1,000 takotsubo patients from 40 hospitals across the country involved in the seven-year study.

It has been suggested that medicines that relax blood vessels, called ‘renin-angiotensin system (RAS) inhibitors, could be an effective course of treatment.

Currently used to treat heart attacks due to heart artery blockage, high blood pressure or heart failure, the study will scientifically test the effectiveness of RAS inhibitors in takotsubo.

Kayleigh added: “My part in the trial, I don’t need to do anything but fill in questionnaires every three months for the next seven years.

“The people taking part in the trial are divided into two groups – one group that is continuing to take medication ramipril.

“I was on that for three months, but I have been placed in the group where they don’t take any medication so they are comparing the results of the people who continue with the ramipril and the people that don’t.

“It means that I’ll have extra checks. I’ll go for a heart scan and they will do an ECG so it means that because of this trial, I get to go into the hospital every six months or a year.

“So it’s peace of mind, whereas if this trial wasn’t here, I wouldn’t get that.”

Kayleigh added: “People don’t know that this is something that can happen to young, fit and healthy people.

“I think it’s important for people to realise and understand that emotional stress can really impact your physical health.”