Sue Wakerley was a healthy and active retired PE teacher when she was diagnosed with heart disease.

What started out as chest pains in February 2014 would soon see her in A&E, where doctors told her she’d had a heart attack.

This traumatic event was just the start of her heart story. ‘Then, in 2016, I started getting very fast heartbeats. I was seen by a cardiologist who diagnosed this as atrial flutter.’

Sue was put on medication for this condition, and slowly adapted to her new life, working on getting back to normal and doing the things she loved, such as playing golf, and planning a trip to Florida to visit some friends.

Though eight days into her holiday, past symptoms crept up again. She began to experience atrial fibrillation – a condition that causes an irregular and fast heartbeat – and spent a frightening four days in an American hospital until doctors could regulate it.

‘It was terrifying. I couldn’t fault the level of service, but being away from home in a strange place with worries they wouldn’t be able to control my heart caused a lot of panic for me and my husband Malcolm.’

The journey to return home, the journey to heal

Falling ill in a foreign country also comes with complications when looking to return home. Sue had to consult with doctors daily for almost two weeks before she was permitted to fly.

When she was finally back in the UK, she had to speak to her doctors about getting an ablation performed – a procedure to treat her atrial fibrillation which burns or freezes electrical pathways in the heart to cause scarring, to help break the electrical signals that cause the irregular heartbeats.

Managing heart medicines smoothly with LloydsDirect

Sue was prescribed medication for this condition, and soon discovered LloydsDirect after spotting a flyer in her local pharmacy. ‘I found out the medications would be delivered straight to my house, and that LloydsDirect would do all the organising of the prescriptions, which was great, taking the pressure off me,’ she recalls. Then The Covid-19 Pandemic happened, and Sue described the service as a godsend.

As well as providing seamless medicine management, Sue felt heard by LloydsDirect, sharing that it was as though they knew her, thanks to the reliable service, timely reorder reminders and dependable delivery.

Supporting British Heart Foundation for people like Sue

As well as supporting high street charity shops, Sue is a keen advocate of supporting vital British Heart Foundation-funded research because of her condition and also because her father passed away following a heart attack.

‘I think it's important that people realise that a heart condition is something that can be put right – it can be improved. And hopefully, with support from charities like the British Heart Foundation, others can move forward, too.’

Together, we can help people like Sue. By supporting British Heart Foundation, you can help fund the vital research that keeps families together longer.