Helen Eftekhari, 56, qualified as a nurse almost 30 years ago in 1993 (Picture: British Heart Foundation)

A nurse has modestly spoken of her dedication to helping change the lives of women fighting a potentially debilitating heart condition.

Helen Eftekhari, who lives in Coventry in the West Midlands, qualified as a nurse almost 30 years ago in 1993 and four years later started to specialise in heart health.

‘I became a cardiac rehabilitation nurse – following up people who have had heart attacks and heart surgery,’ said the 56-year-old.

‘This is called supported self-management, and it’s basically a helping hand for people to understanding and look after themselves with their conditions.’

This involved discussing an exercise programme, counselling and advice about life adjustment post-surgery or after a heart attack.

Helen then became an arrythmia nurse in 2009, which involves supporting people with heart rhythm disturbances, including conditions such as Brugada, Long QT and people who have implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) devices.

Then eight years ago she developed an interest, alongside a colleague, in a specific condition called Postural Tachycardia Syndrome (PoTS) and helped set up a new clinic for it.

According to the NHS, PoTS is not a traditional cardiac condition like heart disease or heart failure – it is an abnormal increase in heart rate that happens to  patients when sitting up or standing.

Helen said she is becoming a ‘medical feminist’ as a result of her work (Picture: British Heart Foundation)

It affects a range of people but is most common in girls and women aged 15 to 50.

Helen explained: ‘There are a number of symptoms from dizziness, racing heart sensations, excessive tiredness and “brain fog” – and just standing up to make a cup of tea can make you feel like you’ve just run a marathon.’

She said she wants to raise awareness and help women who have the condition ‘because they have their lives ahead of them’.

It is already known there is a ‘heart attack gender gap’, which sees women being less well treated and having higher mortality rates.

This could be for several reasons, including that women present with difficult symptoms than men and can more easily be misdiagnosed.

Previous research by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) found women are 50% more likely than men to receive the wrong initial diagnosis.

Helen, who works at the University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, said: ‘Historically PoTS would probably have been diagnosed as “hysterical woman”.

‘Syndromes like PoTs along with conditions like ME, polycystic ovaries and endometriosis have historically been poorly misunderstood.

‘I’m becoming really passionate that these young women deserve better than they’ve got in life.’

Referencing clinician Sarah Hillman’s Ted talk about being a medical feminist, Helen added: ‘I think I’m actually becoming a medical feminist now, although I didn’t start out as one.’

She helps diagnose PoTS by carrying out an ‘active standing test’ – which takes around 15 minutes by checking heart rate and blood pressure before and after standing – and helps suggest treatment, which includes upping fluids and salt intake if appropriate.

Helen has recently been awarded a nurses fellowship by the BHF to do a PhD focusing on PoTS, which she does four days a week focusing on self-management. She hopes to get the results of her research published in a medical journal.

‘There isn’t any research to suggest why PoTS affects more women than men,’ Helen said, adding it is currently unclear how many people across the country are currently affected by the condition.

‘But the suggestion in clinical practice is that 80% of those diagnosed are women.

‘It’s probably a lot better now, but there was a survey around 2014 that estimated it can take seven years from onset of symptoms to a diagnosis in the UK. Imagine what can happen in your life in that time?’

Helen works at the University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust (Picture: PA)

She said giving young women the validation of a diagnosis ‘is hugely important for them’.

‘A lot of them aren’t able to carry on schooling, they fall well behind with the experiences their friends are having at a comparable age and it affects their family relationships, because if doctors don’t understand sometimes their families don’t either,’ Helen added.

She has now been nominated at the BHF Heart Hero Awards, which Metro.co.uk is the media partner of this year, in the Healthcare Hero category by a patient.

Helen, who will be attending the awards this week with her son who is currently studying for a Masters in London, said: ‘When I first found out I’d been nominated I was a bit uncomfortable about attending an awards ceremony.

‘But then I thought that if one of my patients had taken the time to nominate me, the least I could do was use this as an opportunity to raise awareness of PoTS.’

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‘I’m becoming really passionate that these young women deserve better than they’ve got in life.’