Atrial fibrillation: ‘I felt healthy. I had no idea my heart was in trouble – then I had a stroke at 57’

Two years ago, about a month before her 58th birthday, Joyce Coleman had a stroke at her holiday home in France. She’d flown over a few days previously, unaware and unconcerned that anything might be amiss with her health, although an issue had been flagged after she’d undergone a routine medical procedure. “We have a history of bowel cancer in our family.

So as a result, I’ve had a colonoscopy every five years,” she says. “I’ve had no problems, [but after] the last colonoscopy in 2022, the consultant said to me, ‘This is all clear, Joyce, but your heart is racing, are you aware of that?’”.