WHEN Jason Horsfall went to the shops for some aspirin to treat his heartburn, his wife Caroline Ramsay never expected he wouldn’t make it back home.
The couple from Retford, Nottinghamshire, had no clue that the 41-year-old’s indigestion pain was actually a heart attack.
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While driving home, Jason collapsed and died just metres from his front door – only a month before his wedding.
On the morning of October 10 Caroline, 40, recalled that her partner had been experiencing some discomfort in his chest.
“He woke up like any other morning, totally fine, but he said he had a bit of heartburn – he’s suffered with it before,” the pregnant mum-of-one said.
She said she advised him to take some Gaviscon and paracetamol, but it was not having the desired effect.
“He made himself some breakfast but the pain came back again and he said, ‘this heartburn is killing me’,” Caroline said.
She said she suggested they call an ambulance but Jason declined, saying instead he would go to the Morrisons petrol station located opposite their two-bedroom flat to purchase some aspirin from the shop.
On the way back home, Caroline said Jason “collapsed” in the road while having a heart attack – prompting a member of the public to start performing CPR.
Emergency services, including paramedics in solo response cars, two crewed ambulances and an air ambulance were dispatched to the scene, according to the East Midlands Ambulance Service, which alerted Caroline to the incident as she said her house is “literally a second away” from the petrol station.
“I had this gut-wrenching feeling, I ran outside and the first thing I saw was Jason’s trainers,” Caroline said.
“I screamed at the top of my lungs, ran over to him and was trying to comfort him.
“There were quite a lot of public around, they were really helpful and doing CPR on Jason.
“The ambulance crew then took over and they put him in the back (of the ambulance) – they told me to wait in the house because I was distraught and my house is literally a second away.”
Caroline said paramedics were able to revive Jason twice but his heart continued to fail.
When I feel really down and I can’t stop crying, I just think that I’ve got a part of him growing inside of me
Caroline Ramsay
She said she was told by paramedics the situation was not looking positive after Jason was being treated in the ambulance for about 48 minutes.
“I went to the back of the ambulance and held his hand the whole way through while they put a scan on his heart to see if there was any activity,” she said.
“I asked if there was any way back from this but there was a very slim chance – I said if there was no way back, we need to turn the machines off and (the ambulance crew) agreed.
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“They said that if we bring him back, his heart is going to keep failing.”
Caroline said she sat with Jason, “held his hand” and “kissed his forehead”.
“They took the machines off him and took the tube out his mouth… I was with him until he took his last breath,” she said.
Caroline said Jason was pronounced dead at 4.35pm and she waited with him for coroner staff to arrive to take his body to the Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham.
“I’m reliving it every day,” she said.
“I can’t go into our bedroom, I start to get panicky when I go near it – that’s the last place he was.”
Caroline said she is now waiting for a post-mortem examination to be concluded to establish Jason’s cause of death after an initial autopsy could not determine what caused the heart attack.
Subtle heart attack symptoms you must never ignore
The overall survival rate for people experiencing a heart attack is seven in 10, increasing to nine in 10 for those who get to hospital early.
Here we outline some of the more subtle early warning signs that you may be having a heart attack.
1. Uncomfortable pressure
Having weird feelings in the chest is expected when having a heart attack.
According to the American Heart Association, one of the very first symptoms of a heart attack is “uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness, or pain in the centre of your chest.”
This tenderness may come in waves lasting more than a few minutes at a time.
2. Pain in other areas of the body
Oddly enough, heart attack pain can occur in places other than the chest, like the back, shoulders, arms, neck or jaw.
According to Cleveland Clinic, when there’s a problem in the heart, such as a blocked artery, it can trigger the nerves in your heart to give a signal that something is wrong, and you’ll feel pain.
In some cases, a heart attack stimulates your vagus nerve, which runs from the brain down through the chest and into the abdomen
Considering the vagus nerve is connected to not only the heart, but also the brain, chest, abdomen, and neck, you may feel those pain signals in other areas of the body too.
3. Dizziness
Many things can make you dizzy: standing up too fast, overheating or not eating enough.
However, lightheadedness coupled with chest pain and shortness of breath may indicate a decrease in blood volume and a drop in blood pressure.
And this could mean a heart attack could be on its way.
4. Fatigue
Feeling tired after a long day or sleepless night is normal.
But people can feel fatigued a month out before having a heart attack, Harvard Health Publishing reports.
5. Nausea
Many of us have a funny tummy from time to time.
Gastric symptoms like a queasy stomach, vomiting, or burping can sometimes develop when the heart and other areas of the body aren’t receiving enough blood supply, according to Stoney Brook Medicine.
6. Heart palpitations
When the heart lacks adequate blood supply, all sorts of things can happen in the body.
According to Stoney Brook Medicine, the heart can begin to get irritable when it lacks nutrient-filled blood. This can lead to the sensation of heart palpitations.
If you feel like you’re having heart palpitations, make sure you call 111 right away.
7. Sweating
Sweating more than usual — especially if you aren’t exercising or being active — could be an early warning sign of heart problems.
This is because pumping blood through clogged arteries takes more effort from your heart.
And because of this, your body sweats more to try to keep your body temperature down during the extra exertion, the British Heart Association explain.
Other symptoms of a heart attack can include:
- Shortness of breath
- An overwhelming sense of anxiety (similar to having a panic attack)
- Coughing or wheezing
She said she also discovered on October 14 that she is now seven weeks pregnant with Jason’s baby.
“I was feeling a bit unwell so I thought I’d take a test and it came back positive,” she said.
“I felt absolutely numb but then it felt like a miracle.
“When I feel really down and I can’t stop crying, I just think that I’ve got a part of him growing inside of me.”
To help their daughter Paignton understand the loss, Caroline told her Jason is now “a star in the sky”.
“There’s loads of photos around the flat of all of us together and she’ll point going, ‘dada’,” she added.
Caroline said she has since had to cancel the pair’s wedding plans as they were due to tie the knot on November 5.
“I’ve had to cancel the notice of marriage and things like the flowers – but I’m not too worried about them to be honest,” she said.
She has also set up an online fundraising page, which has raised more than £1,500, to help with the fees for Jason’s funeral and the everyday costs of looking after their daughter.
“I’m thankful and overwhelmed for people’s generosity and support,” she said.
