A dance teacher passed out while driving at 70mph due to an undiagnosed heart condition that means even the sound of her morning alarm clock can stop her heart from beating.
Lyndsey Thomas, 34, careered across three lanes on the M61 near Manchester after losing consciousness at the wheel.
Ms Thomas, a former professional dancer, from Chorlton, near Manchester, escaped without any serious injuries, but was later diagnosed with a condition, known as Long QT Syndrome, that causes problems with the electrical activity of her heart.
She said: ‘It’s the shock which triggers the blackouts, such as an over-taking car and the loud alarm clock sound.
‘Once, when [my alarm clock] sounded at 7am, I went to turn it off and I fell between my bed and chest of draws. I was completely out of it for 10 minutes. It must have been the loud, startling sound.’
Former professional dancer Lyndsey Thomas, 34, blacked-out while driving at 70mph
WHAT IS LONG QT SYNDROME?
Long QT syndrome (LQTS) is a condition that can cause heart rhythm disturbances.
It affects around one in 2,000 people.
LQTS can be inherited or caused by certain medications.
Symptoms include blackouts and palpitations.
Sufferers are at-risk of death if they are woken suddenly, startled or undertake vigorous exercise.
Most patients are treated with medication.
A pacemaker or implantable cardioverter defibrillator may be required to control chemical flow to the heart.
Source: British Heart Foundation
Ms Thomas said: ‘I was in the middle lane, driving at about 70mph, when a caravan was trying to get in front of me.
‘I remember thinking, “I can’t move over”, because there was another car on the outside lane and then I felt really faint, like I was going to pass out.
‘My mum had said to me if I ever felt faint when I was driving, just to pull over, so I remembered trying to brake and go left, to get to the hard shoulder.’
Ms Thomas has no idea how long it was before she woke up to find her car had stopped on the verge of the hard shoulder.
She said: ‘The next thing I knew, I was on the verge, and a man, who I’ve never traced, woke me up and said he’d called an ambulance.
‘I have no idea how long I had been there, but I just started screaming.
‘It was so confusing and I was scared I was badly injured.’
Ms Thomas narrowly missed hitting two concrete bollards.
She will do genetic testing before starting a family with her boyfriend Benjamin Simpson, 32
She said: ‘I had no idea why this had happened to me, but it felt a lot more serious than just passing-out in my bedroom at home.’
Ms Thomas frequently blacked-out in her 20s but was misdiagnosed with epilepsy and a hormonal imbalance.
She said: ‘Once, when [my alarm clock] sounded at 7am, I went to turn it off and I fell between my bed and chest of draws. I was completely out of it for 10 minutes. It must have been the loud, startling sound.
‘When I woke up, I was lying on the floor and didn’t have a clue what had happened to me. My heart was really beating and my head hurt, but I didn’t think much of it.’
Her father Phil, 65, has the condition but no symptoms (pictured with her mother Margaret, 62)
After the motorway incident in June 2012, Ms Thomas was taken by ambulance to the Royal Bolton Hospital where she was given X-Rays and a heart rhythm test.
She said: ‘They said I’d fractured my lower back, torn a part of my hip and cracked my sternum, but no one could work out why I had blacked-out.
‘I’d eaten enough that day, and didn’t feel unwell.’
After being referred to a cardiologist, doctors said they suspected Lyndsey had Long QT syndrome.
She was misdiagnosed with epilepsy and a hormonal imbalance after black-outs in her 20s
Ms Thomas escaped the car accident without major injuries but suffered some fractures
She said: ‘They said it is often the result of a faulty gene that’s inherited from one of your parents, so my mum, dad and brother were tested too.
‘Apparently, the abnormal gene causes an imbalance in the chemicals that create the electric impulses in your heart.’
It was discovered that Ms Thomas’ father Phil, 65, also suffered with Long QT syndrome, but had never experienced symptoms.
The following year Ms Thomas was fitted with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator in her chest, which helps treat irregular heart beats and can shock the heart into a normal rhythm.
She also takes beta-blockers, which reduce the heart’s activity by inhibiting hormones, such as adrenaline.
Ms Thomas said: ‘They realised it’s the shock which triggered the blackouts, such as the over-taking car and the loud alarm clock sound.
She has been fitted with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator to maintain her heartbeat
The former professional dancer has given up the profession but still teaches and stays active
‘I was also told I could pass the condition on to my children, so I am looking into pre-implantation genetic diagnosis before me and my boyfriend have children.
‘It’s challenging to live with such a rare, complex condition. The medication makes me tired all the time and cardiovascular training is challenging.
‘I’ve given up professional dancing, but, thankfully, I have been able to continue teaching dance and am still very active.
‘But I am certainly more mindful about the amount I do and am careful not to put myself under too much stress,’
Ms Thomas is taking part in the British Heart Foundation’s ‘Wear it. Beat it’ campaign to help fund more research into inherited heart conditions.