Brenda's Story
Fourteen years ago, at just 45, mother of three, Brenda Strachan was at home with her nine year old daughter Lucinda. Brenda wasn’t feeling well and Lucinda suggested she go to the hospital. The hospital discovered she had Dilated Cardiomyopathy which caused heart failure. “I thought I was going to die,” says Brenda. “I couldn’t believe it, I was a healthy, normal person with a young family".
Since her diagnosis she has had to deal with abnormal weight gain and fluid retention, which over the next ten years, put her in and out of hospitals and surgeries. On average she stayed in hospital seven times a year, putting a strain on family life.
Three years ago her life was turned around when she was given the support of a BHF Heart Failure Nurse. Brenda says: “I can’t stress how much the charity has helped me. It has made a massive difference to my life. I just wish I had found them earlier because they are always just a telephone call away and know exactly how to ensure I keep on top of my condition”.