{"id":181473,"date":"2025-12-13T06:44:08","date_gmt":"2025-12-13T06:44:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/181473\/"},"modified":"2025-12-13T06:44:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-13T06:44:08","slug":"kapiti-woman-describes-pushing-through-symptoms-on-hike-only-to-find-out-it-was-a-heart-attack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/181473\/","title":{"rendered":"K\u0101piti woman describes pushing through symptoms on hike, only to find out it was a heart attack"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cMy legs and stuff just wouldn\u2019t go. I was a bit puffy as well,\u201d she recalled. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere was no other option than eventually to get to the top … I was hoping some of those young men that were running past me might carry me up, but that didn\u2019t happen,\u201d she joked.<\/p>\n

Whincup dismissed her symptoms, and had a similar experience in the following days on another walk.<\/p>\n

\u201cA few weeks later I had what I thought was indigestion. I know that\u2019s a common mistake people can make between the two feelings.\u201d<\/p>\n

\" K\u0101piti woman Joan Whincup shared her story about her heart attacks to help raise awareness for the Heart Foundation’s Big Heart Appeal.<\/p>\n

Eventually, after experiencing the symptoms yet again, a doctor told her she had been having heart attacks. <\/p>\n

\u201cI suppose it was a bit of a shock, really,\u201d Whincup said. \u201cBecause it was so undramatic it was hard to believe that\u2019s what it was.\u201d<\/p>\n

She has since had stents put in, and \u201ctouch wood\u201d, has been healthy for the past few years.<\/p>\n

When she was in hospital awaiting treatment for the heart attacks, she saw a small poster on the wall with information about rehabilitation sessions for people with heart problems. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat, for me, was an absolute lifesaver,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt gives you the confidence to actually get back up on your feet and do stuff … [it\u2019s the] worst thing to sit at home all day thinking you\u2019re fragile and you can\u2019t do anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

The rehabilitation was a mixture of training, diet and lifestyle education, as well as advice from pharmacists.<\/p>\n

Whincup now swims, walks and does yoga regularly to keep herself fit and healthy.<\/p>\n

\"JoanJoan Whincup first noticed the symptoms during a scenic hike in Queenstown. Photo \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

It was this personal experience that led her to get involved as a volunteer street collector in the Heart Foundation\u2019s Big Heart Appeal.<\/p>\n

Volunteers will be out collecting for the appeal in February, and the foundation is calling on Kiwis to give two hours of their time on February 27-28 for the cause.<\/p>\n

\u201cHeart disease is our number one killer, claiming the life of one New Zealander every 90 minutes,\u201d Heart Foundation medical director Dr Gerry Devlin said.<\/p>\n

\u201cVolunteering for us is a crucial way that you can help in the fight against heart disease.<\/p>\n

\u201cFunds raised help us make a vital difference, whether it is supporting research that leads to improved treatments and medications, to investing in overseas training for cardiologists so we can offer world-class treatments in New Zealand,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want our researchers, innovators, doctors and nurses to keep shifting the dial to improve heart health for New Zealanders and their families.\u201d <\/p>\n

Heart disease at a glance<\/p>\n

Heart disease is New Zealand\u2019s single biggest killer, claiming the lives of more than 6500 New Zealanders every year \u2013 one person every 90 minutes.More than 180,000 New Zealanders are currently living with heart disease.Including high blood pressure, around a million New Zealand adults are living with cardiovascular disease.Every 45 minutes, a New Zealander is admitted to hospital with a heart attack.More than 2500 people were treated for a cardiac arrest in the community or at home in 2024. Of these, only 24% survived to arrive at hospital.Since 1968, the Heart Foundation has funded more than $99 million in research and specialist training.<\/p>\n

Melissa Nightingale<\/a> is a Wellington-based reporter who covers crime, justice and news in the capital. She joined the Herald in 2016 and has worked as a journalist for 12 years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cMy legs and stuff just wouldn\u2019t go. I was a bit puffy as well,\u201d she recalled. \u201cThere was…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":181474,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[89,11557,9174,96461,1866,1360,2862,5838,24826,702,60832,9933,111,43,139,69,90,2847,2682,3111,26520,16485,11690,13660,427,12072,210,61,9839,6736,1354],"class_list":["post-181473","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-attack","tag-describes","tag-discover","tag-educate","tag-find","tag-having","tag-heart","tag-help","tag-hike","tag-it","tag-kpiti","tag-later","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-on","tag-only","tag-others","tag-out","tag-pushed","tag-pushing","tag-scenic","tag-sharing","tag-story","tag-symptoms","tag-through","tag-to","tag-uncomfortable","tag-was","tag-woman"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181473","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=181473"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181473\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/181474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=181473"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=181473"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=181473"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}