Woman who had heart attack at 24 shares key warning sign

A woman who suffered a major heart attack in her early twenties has revealed a major warning sign she missed.

Brittany Williams was seemingly healthy and fit throughout her life.

However, she shockingly went into a serious cardiac arrest and lost consciousness at just 24.

Back in 2014, Brittany Williams was at a restaurant when she endured a life-changing health scare.

Whilst out at a dinner in Times Square, New York City, Williams went into cardiac arrest and totally lost consciousness.

After two doctors' attempts at CPR at the restaurant and being induced in a medical coma - Williams regained consciousness a whole two days later in hospital.

It was the quick actions of the two doctors performing CPR for a whole eight minutes that kept Williams alive until medical help arrived on the scene.

With hopes to promote the importance of heart health and CPR training, Williams set out to use her experiences as a means of educating other young people about what could be life-threatening situations.

A heart attack occurs when the supply of blood to the heart is suddenly blocked, usually by a blood clot.

Common symptoms of a heart attack include shortness of breath, feeling lightheaded or dizzy and a feeling of pressure, heaviness, tightness or squeezing across your chest.

And it was this exact pain that Williams had ignored a week before her trip to the Big Apple.

Speaking to TODAY, she explained: "I was at work, and all of a sudden the left side of my body went numb and tingly.

"I sat back and thought, 'Oh no, this doesn't feel right. This is not what I feel like on a day-to-day basis.'"

Upon realising something wasn't right, Williams took to the internet to figure out what this feeling was down to.

"Three things came up: stroke, heart attack, cardiac arrest," she explained.

After raising the health concerns to her employer, Williams' worries were simply not taken seriously.

"You're 24 years old," Williams' boss responded, "you run five miles a day. You eat extremely healthy, that would never happen to you."

Trusting her boss, Williams ignored the pains and three days later, she found herself 'on the ground in a restaurant in Times Square with no pulse'.

While Williams revealed she didn't remember much about the cardiac arrest itself, her parents, who were dining with her at the time, thought she as having a 'seizure'.

"My eyes rolled to the back of my head, and I just collapsed, and I was unresponsive," she recounted.

Williams was later diagnosed with long QT syndrome, a condition that affects the regular pace of one's heart, per the Mayo Clinic.

Cardiologist Dr Stacey Rosen has highlighted the importance of listening to your body when it comes to your health.

Stressing that heart issues can affect just about anyone, Rosen told the news outlet: "Heart disease affects young people, old people, thin, healthy runners.

"When you feel something isn't right, act on it."

Now, nearly ten years on from the scare, Williams has revealed that while she still does live in a 'state of constant fear' of a repeat situation, she's choosing to see the positives in the situation.

"I knew deep down that I had gotten a second chance at life, and I wasn't going to waste it," she concluded.

Williams now promotes CPR training and education on heart health so there can be 'more stories with endings like [hers]'.