• News
  • Film and TV
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Weird
  • Community
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
Teen issues warning after doctors ignored major symptom before she 'died' in front of classmates

Home> News> Health

Published 09:59 20 May 2025 GMT+1

Teen issues warning after doctors ignored major symptom before she 'died' in front of classmates

Evelyn Walker had been preparing for a normal day at school when she went into cardiac arrest

Emily Brown

Emily Brown

A British teenager is urging people to pay attention to your own body after she went into cardiac arrest while at school after suffering 'mild chest pains'.

Evelyn Walker, from Hertfordshire, UK, has insisted she was just having a 'normal morning' in February this year when life as she knew it came to a terrifying end.

She described getting up, having breakfast and walking to school with her friend, where she arrived at about 8:30am.

Advert

"I felt fine that morning. Everything was normal until I started getting chest pains," she recalled.

The 17-year-old 'began feeling sick', and before she knew it she 'collapsed'.

"I don't have any memories of the event. I completely blacked out. I just remember waking up in hospital a couple of days later," she said.

Evelyn Walker was described as 'healthy and vibrant' before her cardiac arrest (Kennedy News and Media)
Evelyn Walker was described as 'healthy and vibrant' before her cardiac arrest (Kennedy News and Media)

Advert

It was only after the incident that Evelyn learned what had happened. After she'd collapsed, staff jumped into action by trying to perform CPR, with one teacher grabbing the school's on-site defibrillator.

Staff alerted the school's medical officer, who shocked an unconscious Evelyn twice in a desperate bid to restart her heart.

Evelyn believes her heart had stopped for five whole minutes before she was stabilized, after which she was rushed to Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge to be placed in a three-day coma.

Her mom, Jennifer, described the ordeal as the 'worst moment' of her life, saying: "I was in bed asleep having a lie in and heard my phone going then just saw the word 'ambulance' on my phone.

Advert

"I just thought Evelyn had bumped her head or fallen over. Then the police were on my doorstep and I just thought she was dead. It was absolutely awful."

Jennifer went to her daughter's side, noting that 'nothing like this had ever happened before' as Evelyn was a 'healthy, vibrant young girl'.

Jennifer described the ordeal as the 'worst moment' of her life (Kennedy News and Media)
Jennifer described the ordeal as the 'worst moment' of her life (Kennedy News and Media)

Even prior to being hospitalized, Evelyn noted there were no major red flags that doctors were aware of.

Advert

The 17-year-old had previously experienced 'mild chest pains', prompting her to go to the doctor.

However, medics 'just put it down to physical symptoms of anxiety', and her pains 'never got investigated', she said.

Evelyn believes she may have had an underlying heart issue, with tests leading doctors to believe that the teen may have abnormalities in her heart.

However, the medical cause of her cardiac arrest is still under investigation.

Advert

"We still don't know if that [the chest pains] was linked," Evelyn said. "I'm quite frustrated I was just told it was anxiety, just because I'm a young person. I'm sure if I was over 60 complaining of chest pain, they would've looked into it further."

Evelyn remained in hospital for a month after she collapsed before being fitted with an internal defibrillator to prevent any similar incidents in the future.

Now, Evelyn is urging people to be mindful of any symptoms they may experience.

Evelyn has now been fitted with a defibrillator (Kennedy News and Media)
Evelyn has now been fitted with a defibrillator (Kennedy News and Media)

Advert

"My outlook on life has really changed," she said. "I thought I was young and healthy and nothing like this would ever happen to me...

"Don't just assume doctors are right. You know your own body better than anyone else and if you think something is off then don't be afraid to push and get it investigated. Heart problems can affect anyone."

To help raise awareness of sudden cardiac arrest in young people, Jennifer has launched a Facebook page called 'Young Hearts UK' and hopes to encourage more people to have CPR and AED (Automated External Defibrillator) training.

"[Sudden cardiac arrest] is fairly rare for young people but not unheard of. In fact, 12 young people under 35 die each week in the UK from a SCA. That's why we want people to know CPR and to know where their nearest defibrillator is," the mom said.

Featured Image Credit: Kennedy

Topics: Health, UK News

Emily Brown
Emily Brown

Emily Brown is UNILAD Editorial Lead at LADbible Group. She first began delivering news when she was just 11 years old - with a paper route - before graduating with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University. Emily joined UNILAD in 2018 to cover breaking news, trending stories and longer form features. She went on to become Community Desk Lead, commissioning and writing human interest stories from across the globe, before moving to the role of Editorial Lead. Emily now works alongside the UNILAD Editor to ensure the page delivers accurate, interesting and high quality content.

Advert

Advert

Advert

  • Woman diagnosed with cancer reveals the one symptom she ignored for a decade before diagnosis
  • Woman diagnosed with cancer was told she was 'too young' for it after explaining terrifying symptom to doctor years before
  • Teen sent away from hospital after doctors claimed she had 'growing pains' discovers heartbreaking diagnosis
  • Doctors issue urgent warning over 'golden dose' hack for Mounjaro as it could be fatal

Choose your content:

8 hours ago
9 hours ago
  • 8 hours ago

    'Fridge cigarette' trend explained as Gen Z ditches traditional smoke breaks

    The new trend is taking TikTok by storm

    News
  • 8 hours ago

    Doctor reveals what you should never do in bed as he explains best way to beat insomnia

    Dr. Matthew Walker has offered some tips to curb insomnia and scrub up on your bedtime habits

    News
  • 8 hours ago

    FBI issues urgent warning to 150,000,000 US iPhone users to delete this text as soon as it appears

    Attacks on iPhones and Androids have surged more than 700 percent this month

    News
  • 9 hours ago

    Surprising meaning behind people who keep waking up at the same time every night

    It's surprisingly common

    News