A mother-of-two claims her potentially fatal heart condition was dismissed as a UTI while pregnant with her second child.

Weronika Driver said at 36 weeks her normal pregnancy took a drastic turn when she awoke with a tightness across her chest and sweating excessively.

She recalls turning to her husband terrified, saying 'I think I'm having a heart attack'.

But when the 27-year-old, from Tattershall in Lincolnshire, arrived at the hospital medics said she was 'dehydrated' and dismissed her symptoms as just a UTI.

They then sent her home — a mistake other doctors later said could have resulted in a potentially fatal stroke or cardiac arrest.

Because, instead of a UTI, Mrs Driver had atrial fibrillation, a serious condition that cause disruptions to regular heart rhythm and, if left untreated, can lead to potentially deadly heart failure. 

And it wasn't until she experienced another episode, that this time caused her to lose consciousness, that she was diagnosed.

The ordeal, which occurred in 2020, has had a lasting impact on her life and following the birth of her daughter Violet, now aged four, Mrs Driver has been told getting pregnant again could put her life at risk. 

Now, she is sharing her story to raise awareness of heart disease conditions in women. According to Heart Research UK women have a 50 per cent higher chance of receiving the wrong initial diagnosis after a heart attack.

Mrs Diver first suspected something was wrong when she couldn't feel her baby moving and went to Lincoln Hospital to be monitored.

But, after staying for two days she was sent home and was told to return for foetal movement checks.

However, it was her own health that took a turn for the worst. Just a week after leaving hospital, she awoke covered in sweat and told her husband Ashely, 28, that she was having a 'heart attack'. 

'I started having palpitations in the middle of the night, and when I woke up I said to my husband "I think I'm having a heart attack". I was just so sweaty, hot and really clammy,' she told MailOnline.

'I knew I was going to the hospital in the morning. So I kind of left it. Then, when I arrived at the hospital, I was sick and I was still having these palpitations,' she added. 

Once she arrived in hospital her baby's movements were checked, her blood pressure and temperature were also taken. But despite suffering palpitations, she had no checks on her heart.

Instead, doctors said she simply looked 'dehydrated' and suggested she had a UTI. 

Mrs Driver recalls being told to 'take it easy, drink water' and come back the following day, but said was too tired to argue with the diagnosis at the time and went home to rest. 

'I was tired, heavily pregnant and all of it was scary because it was Covid as well and didn't have anyone with me in the hospital,' she said.

'I did try to stay at home, relax and just sit down and not do anything, but I kept getting dizzy, feeling sick and felt so sweaty,' she added. 

But the next morning Mrs Driver couldn't walk in a straight line without falling over and passing out and she called her mum to take her to the hospital. 

Frighteningly, during the journey she kept losing consciousness, vomiting and swimming with sweat. 

'My mum had to stop the car several times because I was just in and out of consciousness,' she said. 

Mrs Driver said the worst part of the journey was that her daughter Rosie, now eight, who was with her was confused and scared as she didn’t understand what was happening to her mother. 

When she arrived at the hospital a doctor took her pulse, and finding that to be irregular, then ordered a ECG — a test which measures the electrical signals in your heart. 

That ECG revealed her heart rate was 250 beats per minute and also that it had been this high for the previous few days.

Although heart rate varies per individual, a normal resting heart rate is between 60 to 100 beats per minute, according to the NHS. 

This led medics to conclude that Mrs Driver had atrial fibrillation (AF), a condition marked by an irregular and abnormally fast heart rate. 

It is caused by random electrical impulses incorrectly firing from the top chambers of the heart which override the heart’s regular rhythm. 

This can lead to symptoms such as palpitations and breathlessness and in some cases, heart failure. 

More than 1.5million people in the UK have been diagnosed with AF, about one in 50 people.

But an estimated additional 270,000 people are thought to have AF but remain undiagnosed and unaware of the danger, according to British Heart Foundation.

Elinor Fowler, a research information officer at Heart Research UK said: 'The likelihood of atrial fibrillation increases with age with the majority of cases occurring in people over the age of 65. 

'However, younger people can also develop AF, which means it is important to recognise the symptoms, regardless of age.'

What exactly causes AF to develop is unknown with the condition striking both people with cardiovascular conditions and healthy athletes alike. 

Although rare, AF can also develop during pregnancy. Furthermore, pregnancy can also worsen existing, perhaps undiagnosed, AF due to expectant mothers experiencing an increase in blood pressure. 

In Mrs Driver's case, she had no history of heart disease and recalls waking in hospital unsure as to what had happened.

'The next thing I know, the room was just full of doctors. I was on my own and I remember telling my, my eldest I was going to be back in a minute. But then I didn't see her for a week,' she said. 

She was kept on the cardiology ward for a week and was told she wouldn't be able to have a natural birth as had been planned, as there was a risk her condition could worsen as a result.

However, she also had to wait until after the birth to be given cardioversion — a drug used to get an abnormal heart rhythm back to a regular pattern due to the risks the medication posed to the then unborn Violet. 

'I really wanted to have a natural birth because my first pregnancy, I was absolutely fine. Doctors said that there's no chance of me having a natural birth, it was going to be a C-section.'

But due to her condition her husband had to sign papers explaining the risks.

She said: 'I had to acknowledge that I could fall into a coma, or I could die. It was honestly horrible. I remember my husband crying.' 

Thankfully, after the C-section Mrs Driver was able to see Violet, before her daughter was whisked away to her waiting husband. Ms Driver was then given cardioversion.

'I was given so much information about my condition, but I was just so scared and I was so alone as well, because I just wanted to go and see my baby,' she said. 

Eventually Mrs Driver was reunited with her baby before being sent home armed with several blood thinning medications. 

However, just a few weeks later, she was hit with the same symptoms of AF and was taken to A&E in Boston, Lincolnshire.

A cardiologist informed her she had a type of AF that 'comes and goes', sometimes for a few minutes or days at a time.

One of the lasting impacts of her AF diagnosis is the heartbreaking consequence that she cannot have more children.

'Doctors said to me don't have another baby. Because if it happens again, it can honestly just kill me straightaway. That, to me was really heartbreaking,' she said. 

In a report following Mrs Drivers' delay in diagnosis, United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust apologised and admitted the doctor initially failed to recognise her symptoms were consistent with a 'possible cardiac condition'. 

The report said this 'delay in treatment could have resulted in an adverse outcome such as a stroke or cardiac arrest'. 

A hospital spokesperson told this website: 'We’d like to offer our sincerest apologies again to Ms Weronika Driver for the failures in her care which occurred in May 2020.

'The incident clearly fell below the standard of care we want to deliver, and following a thorough investigation we have since fully implemented a number of changes to the way we work to ensure that this does not happen again.'