Because of contraceptive pill use, doctors found that Sarah Brison had clots in the blood vessels leading into her heart. She was hospitalised for almost a week and may have to have daily medication for the rest of her life.
Only 23 when her ordeal began, Sarah mistook her symptoms for panic attack when she woke up from a gripping pain at one in the morning. At one point she thought she was going to die and was frightened when her vision blurred and went. She recalled losing control of her limbs and then of her body and sweating profusely. She had a sense of her body shutting down.
'The pain was unbearable. It was like brain freeze except it was all over my chest, as if someone was pressing down on me with all of their weight."
Sarah had no reason to believe that she was experiencing a heart attack. She led an active lifestyle and kept fit from having played semi-professional football and with regular exercise in the gym.
The doctors diagnosed that she did indeed experience a heart attack and found that Sarah has a hole in the heart called Patent Foramen Ovale (PFO).
A PFO is a small opening between the two upper chambers of the heart, which usually closes after a person is born. The 25 percent of individuals for whom the hole stays open normally does not experience any problem relating to this and may not even know of its existence. That is unless clotted blood goes into this hole.
Sarah had been on the pill for seven years prior to the incident and had switched to the combined contraceptive pill Marvelon.
While risk of blood clots is commonly associated with contraceptive pill, the oestrogen content of such pills as Marvelon and Yasmin pose a higher risk. A stroke usually results from these clots. However, because of Sarah's PFO, the clot actually went through this hole and caused a heart attack instead.
Sarah was initially doubtful and repeatedly asked the doctors why she experienced what she did. She was admitted to Intensive Care and eventually transferred to the cardiac ward.
Today, Sarah is slowly returning to work and rebuilding her life. She submits to regular reviews by her doctor and has to take drugs, which she may have to continue taking for the rest of her life. Sarah has a spray in case of emergency chest pains and may need a future surgery to treat her PFO.
'I know the chances of this happening are rare so I guess I was just unlucky but people need to think seriously before taking the Pill because there are other, safer alternatives.
'I still have a long road ahead of me but if I can warn just one other girl about the dangers of the Pill, it'll be worth it.'
Marvel manufacturer MSD issued a statement through spokeswoman who says, 'Nothing is more important to MSD than the safety of the patients."
'The choice and suitability of a contraceptive method for any individual should always be discussed with an appropriate healthcare professional.'
