A man who had a heart attack aged just 22 has opened up about the terrifying ordeal and the moment he knew something was wrong.
Let’s be honest, when you think of people having heart attacks, you probably imagine someone a little older or perhaps unhealthier. Maybe someone who’s overweight or perhaps a person who drinks and smokes a lot.
But the reality it they can be suffered by people regardless of their age, fitness, weight or other factors.
And this lad suffered one when he was just 22 years old.
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Tom Birchy regularly takes to TikTok to discuss his major health scare and in one of his many videos he warned his followers of the symptoms to look out for, recalling what happened to him.
He explained that at the time, he was working a ‘high stress job in the music industry’ and was ‘using carrier bags’ as a way to get him through. Now, it doesn’t take an idiot to figure out this is TikTok slang for something far less friendly and known to have an effect on a person’s heart rate.
"Too much, twice or three times a week, but it fit into the party lifestyle 'oh music industry I'm so cool',” he added.
Birchy said there was one morning when he woke up with his arms feeling tight, particularly with the back of his elbow being numb.
He recalled: “It went down my arms and I was banging them on the sofa and I couldn't be comfortable sitting up, lying down or standing up, and so I called the ambulance.”
When he got to hospital, blood samples were taken and he had to have an injection to prevent blood clots.
The lad explained it was eventually determined he’d suffered a heart attack and he remembered feeling a ‘pressure on your chest and in your arms’.
Birchy added that he experienced a ‘fear of impending doom’ where he thought he was going to die.
Having to spend a week in hospital at the time, he remembers the ordeal as 'truly a terrifying experience'. Now, he urges people to understand they are 'not invincible' and 'not gonna live forever'.
He said: "If smashing the carrier bags every week end you think is a great idea, all it takes is one day for that to happen to you and you might not be as lucky as me."
Jess Battison