The family of a young woman have revealed the cheery final WhatsApp message they received, just hours before getting a devastating call from the hospital.
32-year-old Rhian Griffiths, originally from Wales, had spent the past couple of years visiting the hospital after feeling breathless and having a racing heart – only to have her symptoms dismissed as ‘stress-related’.
The quantity surveyor had undergone a series of tests for her heart palpitations, but had been discharged every time.
In March 2023, Rhian’s family would receive a string of messages to their family WhatsApp, informing them ‘not to panic’ but that she was heading to hospital as her heart was ‘playing up again’. Rhian would later send a follow-up message to let them know she was staying in overnight.
The 32-year-old had made three visits to the hospital since September 2020 (Kennedy)
However, this would be the last time the family would hear from Rhian.
In the early hours of the morning, Rhian’s family would receive a phone call from the hospital to inform them that the 32-year-old had been found unresponsive and to quickly make their way to the hospital.
Rhian had gone into cardiac arrest, she would pass away on 11 March, 2023.
They would later learn that Rhian’s heart palpitations and breathlessness had been symptoms of a condition called myocarditis. Caused by an inflammation of the heart muscle, usually following a virus such as Covid-19, myocarditis can cause chest pains, palpitations and shortness of breath.
In rare cases, myocarditis can cause serious complications such as scarring to the heart muscle.
In March 2023, Rhian let her family know that she was once again in hospital with heart problems (Kennedy)
Rhian’s younger sister Ffion Griffiths-Armstrong is now keen to raise more awareness about the condition and believes her sister’s condition could’ve been treated if it hadn’t been ‘missed’ multiple times by doctors.
“Once we got the post-mortem they said Rhian died from acute myocarditis. We’ve read online that you can pick up on myocarditis [with tests],” she said.
“I don’t know whether because Rhian was fit and healthy and recovered from the heart palpitation episodes so well, they just didn’t see it as a red flag.”
Ffion went on to add that the family believe Rhian may have unknowingly caught Covid back in 2020, which may of caused her to develop the condition.
“We’re still so confused by it all still and want answers,” she added.
“You just don’t expect this to happen to a fit and healthy 32-year-old girl. She did everything right so it’s frustrating that this was missed. From what I’ve read myocarditis is preventable and can be treated.
Rhian’s sister now wants to raise awareness around myocarditis to prevent further deaths (Kennedy)
“It all bothers us so much that she should be here. She would’ve changed her lifestyle. It really angers us that her symptoms were just dismissed as stress. She just wasn’t taken seriously.”
Beginning on her 32nd birthday, Ffion is now planning to run 32 marathons in her older sister’s memory, as well as raising money for the British Heart Foundation via a Just Giving page.
“I still think to this day it’s not fully hit me yet. It’s not something your parents should go through – it’s not the order of life,” she said.
“I just don’t want people to forget her because she was an amazing person.”
