heart-disease

Heart attack study: more than a quarter of patients have no risk factors

Heart Research Australia's Professor Gemma Figtree and her team reviewed almost 700 heart attack patients at Sydney's Royal North Shore Hospital from 2006 to 2014.

They found the rate of otherwise healthy patients having heart attacks went up from 11 per cent to a surprising 27 per cent of patients over eight years.

"As interventional cardiologists we all remember the fit, young patient that comes through the door and looks up at you and says 'Why me?'" Professor Figtree said.

When your heart runs a marathon without your body

But it's not working. My heart is still going a million miles an hour.

I'd experienced episodes of rapid heartbeat ever since I was a child. My mother told me they were called palpitations.

I mentioned them to a doctor once when I was a teenager and he jokingly asked if they were triggered by watching gyrating rock stars in music videos.

I took that to mean they were nothing to worry about.

Besides, I somehow discovered over the years that if they didn't go away by themselves, I could stop them by holding my breath for a short period.