Second medical opinions from world leading experts

Best Doctors – Vicky Churcher’s Story

Vicky:
My name is Vicky Churcher. I’m an intermediary director at AIG Life. I’m a mum of three and a heart attack survivor.

I got on the train, like I normally do and I suddenly became very hot and sweaty. The minute the doors shut, I collapsed. I didn’t know what was happening to me, I couldn’t move. I was looking at photos on my phone of the kids, of my husband and I knew I had to stay awake.

I was rushed to Stevenage hospital and a nurse was telling me that I was actually having a heart attack

Vicky’s Daughter 1:
Mum is one of the strongest people I’ve ever met and before that point there was never anything that showed she had a heart condition or even a health problem.

Vicky:
I had an angiogram, three out of four of my arteries were pretty much fully blocked and I’d been living off one artery, probably for some time, and I had to have an emergency triple heart bypass.

Vicky’s Son:
It was really weird not to have mum in the home, normally I’d come home and she’d be there.

Vicky’s Daughter 1:
She made it through the bypass surgery ok, she came home, recovered.

Vicky:
I knew I’d had a heart attack but I wanted to know why I’d had the heart attack. I thought OK, I’ve been talking about Best Doctors for a number of years, time to put them to the test.

They far exceeded my expectations. It was discovered that I had something called ‘Elevated Lipoprotein (a)’ and it’s genetic. I got a call from a doctor in Cleveland, Ohio, and her main concern was do my children have it and will it happen again.

Vicky’s Daughter 1:
We went for blood tests and they explained that we had inherited raised Lipoprotein (a).

Vicky’s Daughter 2:
Obviously it’s not great to hear but it was kind of reassuring that they found it so soon.

Vicky:
It’s too late for me. My arteries are already ruined and my heart failure is still already there, but it’s not too late for the girls. The damage hasn’t been done yet.

Vicky’s Daughter 1:
Definitely a better outlook on life, now that I know and I definitely want to appreciate every moment more.

Vicky:
I have nothing but a huge amount of praise for Best Doctors. They’re the ones that came up with the fact that it’s a genetic disorder and I need to look out for the children, and they’re the ones that told me what to do next. Best Doctors is an invaluable service and certainly one that I would recommend to absolutely everybody.