Mother tells of heart scare to increase awareness

Published on Monday 21 September 2009 22:05

A MOTHER who became seriously ill with heart problems while having twins has spoken of her ordeal to help raise awareness.

Susan Sneddon, 40, from Barnton, Edinburgh, suffered from peripartum cardiomyopathy – a condition that develops in pregnancy and causes the heart to enlarge and pump less strongly.

Her twins had to be induced after 38-and-a-half weeks and one of the them had to be born by Caesarean.

Ms Sneddon, an insurance company retail director, told her story as part of Cardiomyopathy Week to raise awareness of the condition that affects one in 10,000 pregnancies.

Before becoming pregnant, Ms Sneddon was a fit and healthy 33-year-old who did a lot of exercise. But during the last three months she suffered from shortness of breath and extremely swollen hands and feet and doctors at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary decided her birth should be induced.

At one point, Ms Sneddon was told she might need a heart transplant. But five years later, her heart has improved dramatically, although she is still on medication.

&#149 For more information call the Cardiomyopathy Association on 0800 0181 024 or go to www.cardiomyopathy.org