A Notts woman whose husband died suddenly of an undiagnosed heart condition hopes to save lives by helping people affected by similar problems.
Steven Knowles, 52, died during a routine operation in July and now his wife Joanne, from Mansfield, is campaigning to make more people aware of the warning signs of cardiovascular conditions.
Steven was undergoing a procedure to have a gallstone removed at King’s Mill Hospital, near Mansfield, when the tragedy struck.
During part of the operation, done under local anaesthetic, doctors noticed Steven became suddenly uncomfortable.
“They gave him some pain killer and that was it – he just changed colour,” said Joanne.
“They did say they worked on him for 45 minutes but they just couldn’t bring him back.”
Steven’s heart had failed and doctors later said he was likely to be suffering from an undiagnosed problem.
Joanne, who is a teacher, said: “I remember it as clear as anything. I was near Sheffield on a school trip and the phone rang. They just said it was King’s Mill Hospital and could I get there as soon as I could.
“I could see them all standing at the hospital they just said we’ll walk you to endoscopy. I knew where it was and I just ran. I just wanted to get to him straight away.”
Less than two weeks after Steven’s death on July 5, Public Health England issued a warning that around 600,000 people in England are living with an undiagnosed heart problem.
Chest pain and unusual breathlessness are among the warning signs of problems such as coronary heart disease.
Joanne now wants to alert more people to the signs of heart conditions through fundraising events.
She has already helped to generate more than £2,000 for the British Heart Foundation and is planning to shave her head to raise more money.
Besides promoting awareness of heart problems, she is also donating her hair to the Little Princess Trust, a charity which provides real hair wigs to children affected by cancer treatments.
“I asked my headteacher at school and my son and he said ‘go for it dad would be really proud’.”
