HOLLYOAKS star Owen Warner has revealed his mum's devastating health battle, and that she may be in need of a heart transplant.
Owen, 24, announced his mother Polly, 57, who was diagnosed with a congenital heart condition at just 18-months, went into heart failure and needs life-changing surgery.
She has suffered with Ventricular Tachycardia all her life and had an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) fitted at 40 to manage her heart rhythm.
Polly, who first had invasive heart surgery when she was 11, was monitored by doctors until turning 34, when she was admitted to hospital with heart failure.
While she's undergone two more procedures since, Polly's symptoms have only declined and she's been told she needs a heart transplant within two years.
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She said, "When I was just 34 years old with my hands full with three young boys, I developed a cough and became very breathless.
"Eventually my symptoms became so intense that I was finally diagnosed with heart failure. Fortunately, the medications started working and I began improving. I was young and had three boys – a lot to fight for."
Owen added, "Nothing makes you step back and look at things more than somebody in your family having problems with their health. Our mum means so much to us, she’s the heart of the family, so the news we’ve had over this past year has been really hard to hear."
Aside from the former I'm A Celeb star, Polly is also mum to Jake, 27, and Louie, 25.
Her middle son will be running the Goodwood Marathon this Sunday to raise money for the British Heart Foundation.
According to Great Ormond Street Hospital, Ventricular Tachycardia "is caused by the electric signals in the heart starting in a different place and travelling a different way through the heart".
Their website states, "Due to the speed of contraction and the origin of the beat, the heart may not have time to fully fill with blood before pumping.
"For some people if the heart rhythm stays in VT it cannot pump blood effectively around the body which can lead to a drop in blood pressure which can cause syncope (fainting), or to cardiac arrest. Other people may not experience this and their blood pressure remains stable."
- Louie’s fundraising link: www.justgiving.com/page/therunninggp
- BHF donation link: https://spotlighton.bhf.org.uk/
