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A teenager discovered she had a potentially fatal heart condition while wearing a fitness gadget she got for Christmas.

Sarah-Jayne McIntosh was sitting at her desk revising for exams when she noticed her new Fitbit Surge showed her heart rate had soared from 84 beats per minute (bpm) to 210bpm.

The 18-year-old called NHS 111 and was rushed to hospital from her halls of residence after medics became concerned she could be having a heart attack , according to the Southport Visiter.

Tests revealed the student from Southport had an undetected heart problem involving a 'misfiring chamber' and if she had not called sooner she could have died.

She said: "The doctors said that if I hadn't phoned for an ambulance when I did and if I wasn't wearing my Fitbit to track my heart rate, I could of suffered a heart attack/cardiac arrest and could of died.

"As soon as I got to hospital, they hooked me on all these machines and did some blood tests and they have found an issue with my heart.

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"Apparently one pathway from one chamber to the heart from the other was misfiring and instead of the chambers beating one after another like it normally should, they were beating at the exact same time, which was causing my heart rate to increase.

"The doctor said I had two beartbeats. I had a resting rate of 190bpm and they couldn't get it to lower.

"They used shock to try and reset it but in the end, they had to use this medication, which reacts within 10 seconds to force the heart to slow down along with the rest of my body.

(Image: North West News Service)

"For the first time that day I could get a full breath and I felt a lot better.

"My heart rate convulsed and started to gradually reduce.

"Doctors were very concerned about me as a healthy, active 18 year-old girl who doesn't drink, smoke or take any drugs and exercises regularly.

"I should not have had a heart rate as high as 210bpm. They said my body was running a marathon without me using my legs."

Sarah revealed that her family suffers from a history of heart problems.

She added: "I had lost a lot of weight to improve my health, and bought the Fitbit to monitor my general health. I feel like everyone should invest in one as you can’t put a price on life."

Sarah now wants others to buy one of the devices to help detect any underlying conditions.