Sandra McCartney experienced cardiac arrest on New Year’s Eve 2019 while on holiday in Spain, remaining clinically dead for 10 minutes before emergency responders restored her heart rhythm using defibrillator shocks and adrenaline injections. The 59-year-old had been unaware she carried familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH), a genetic condition characterized by elevated cholesterol levels that significantly increases the risk of early heart disease and cardiac events if left untreated.
McCartney initially mistook her symptoms for indigestion related to a hiatus hernia, a common condition in people over 50. She alerted her husband when she experienced acute chest pain followed by tingling in her right arm. Within minutes, she lost consciousness, and medical personnel determined she was experiencing a major heart attack. The incident left her with three fractured ribs from cardiopulmonary resuscitation efforts.
Her hospitalization lasted 11 days, during which she required extended ventilation and experienced multiple complications including bilateral lung collapse and laryngeal stridor. She remained unable to fly home until February, requiring wheelchair assistance due to significant muscle loss. Additionally, she developed post-traumatic stress disorder following the event and now uses an implantable cardioverter defibrillator to prevent future cardiac arrest.
According to the British Heart Foundation, more than a quarter million people in the United Kingdom have FH, yet more than two-thirds remain undiagnosed. Northern Ireland operates a specialized screening program achieving the highest FH detection rate in the UK. The condition affects approximately 1 in every 250-500 individuals in the general population, with a 50% inheritance probability if one parent carries the gene. Without treatment, roughly 50% of men and 30% of women with FH develop coronary heart disease by age 55. Once diagnosed and established on cholesterol-lowering medications, patients typically require only periodic cholesterol monitoring.
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