A woman who thought she was having a heart attack the day after her 21st birthday has shared how her lungs went on to collapse four times.
Despite no prior health issues and not smoking, Olivia Smith’s lungs have been riddled with problems.
Having had no health concerns before turning 21, she was rushed to hospital the day after the landmark birthday with pains that “felt like a heart attack”.
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Instead, they diagnosed her with pneumothorax – a collapsed lung – after an X-ray, and she underwent a chest drain.
But shockingly, Olivia, now 23, has gone on to suffer three more collapses and, as a non-smoker or vaper, the young woman has been left baffled by the issue.
“My health has always been fine, I’ve had no problems,” Olivia, a social media specialist based in Romford, told Need To Know.
“The doctors say there is no particular cause – I don’t smoke or have health issues, I’m just unlucky.”
It all started the day after celebrating her 21st birthday in May 2022, when she was opening gifts started to experience pains, and went to A&E.
Olivia said: “I felt like I was having a heart attack.
“I felt shocked and upset as I didn’t know what it was.
“I was being rushed to the resuscitation area and thought it was life-changing.”
An X-ray found the cause: a spontaneous pneumothorax, which occurs when air leaks into the cavity between the lungs and chest walls, and causes a build-up – putting pressure on the lung and making it difficult to expand when inhaling.
In Olivia’s case, her lungs had deflated to around 50% capacity.
She had a chest drain put in to ease the pressure, which initially helped, but suffered a second collapse seven months later in December 2022.
This time, she underwent surgery to repair the issue, but in October 2023 her lung collapsed for a third time.
Again, she had a chest drain fitted, before suffering a fourth collapse in June 2024 – a smaller collapse, on this occasion.
While doctors said she could elect herself for further surgery, Olivia has decided against this for the time being to give her body time to recover.
However, if the issue occurs again, she will have to have surgery again,
Her lung is currently at 80% activity, and while finds herself susceptible to colds, she is focused on getting back to normality.
Now, Olivia is on a mission to raise awareness for pneumothoraxes and the symptoms.
In a video shared on TikTok, she said: “I did not know a lung could collapse until mine collapsed.
“I had no idea and didn’t know what the symptoms were – I thought I was having a heart attack.”
She listed possible symptoms for other people to look out for, including a sudden lack of breath, sharp chest pains, pressure on the chest, and deep pain when laughing or coughing.
While pneumothorax can be caused by chest trauma, lung disease or smoking, Olivia noted that she didn’t have any of those issues prior – saying there was “no obvious reason” she now suffered from lung damage.
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