John
06-02-2009, 04:28 PM
Anna Campbell, 15, was unaware she had dangerously high blood pressure until she had a tooth out under general anaesthetic.
Doctors discovered the schoolgirl, from Littleover, Derbyshire, suffered from a rare condition called coarctation of the main aortic artery.
The disorder caused the main artery from her heart to gradually narrow since birth - putting her at major risk of having a heart attack.
Her mother, Julia, 42, said: "They said her blood pressure was as high as someone of my age, not Anna's."
Mrs Campbell had already taken her daughter to the doctor after she suffered chest pains and breathing problems, but her symptoms were diagnosed as panic attacks brought on by her GCSEs.
But the real cause was discovered when her dentist decided she needed a general anaesthetic because a tooth was embedded in her gum.
Anna's mum said: "If that one tooth had not been stuck in her gum, she would only have had a local anaesthetic and we wouldn't have known about her blood pressure.
"She might be dead now."
Anna's aorta, which was supposed to be 14mm wide, had shrunk to just 2mm, but the condition was rectified with keyhole heart surgery.
Anna, who will be 16 in a fortnight, is planning to trek the Inca Trail in Peru to raise money for the British Heart Foundation.
Doctors discovered the schoolgirl, from Littleover, Derbyshire, suffered from a rare condition called coarctation of the main aortic artery.
The disorder caused the main artery from her heart to gradually narrow since birth - putting her at major risk of having a heart attack.
Her mother, Julia, 42, said: "They said her blood pressure was as high as someone of my age, not Anna's."
Mrs Campbell had already taken her daughter to the doctor after she suffered chest pains and breathing problems, but her symptoms were diagnosed as panic attacks brought on by her GCSEs.
But the real cause was discovered when her dentist decided she needed a general anaesthetic because a tooth was embedded in her gum.
Anna's mum said: "If that one tooth had not been stuck in her gum, she would only have had a local anaesthetic and we wouldn't have known about her blood pressure.
"She might be dead now."
Anna's aorta, which was supposed to be 14mm wide, had shrunk to just 2mm, but the condition was rectified with keyhole heart surgery.
Anna, who will be 16 in a fortnight, is planning to trek the Inca Trail in Peru to raise money for the British Heart Foundation.