Mother-of-two, whose heart stopped temporarily after childhood sweetheart left her for her friend, recalls how she nearly died from a broken heart
A mother-of-two from the UK almost died of a "broken heart" after she found out that her partner of seven years and childhood sweetheart left her for her friend. Helen Ross, a 38-year-old from Canterbury, Kent, was diagnosed with stress-induced cardiomyopathy, which is also known as broken heart syndrome, after her former lover told her that he was leaving her. Only days after they broke up, Ross collapsed and her heart reportedly stopped beating temporarily. This left her needing a pacemaker for seven years after that.
The former model, who was only 26 at that time, admitted that she was "inconsolable" when her relationship broke down but flew to Orlando, Florida, where she tried to immerse herself with work to distract her from what happened.