Chantelle Houghton opens up on 'terrifying' heart condition after backlash for ambulance selfie

ok.co.uk:

Chantelle Houghton has opened up on how she feels about having a heart condition after receiving immense backlash for sharing a photo of herself in an ambulance on the way to hospital.The Celebrity Big Brother star, 38, was being taken to hospital in the vehicle after suffering a health scare.The reality TV beauty lives with a "terrifying" heart condition every day, and has previously shared that medical professionals once had to stop her heart.The condition is called Supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) and can cause the heart organ to start beating up to 400 beats per minute.

It can also happen at random and be very stressful for the sufferer. Chantelle has now explained that one particular episode, which was very severe, forced doctors to have to briefly stop her heart altogether.

Get exclusive celebrity stories and fabulous photoshoots straight to your inbox with OK!'s daily newsletter. “I have episodes probably three or four times per year but different things can bring it on, if I have like anxiety or stress whatever," the brunette social media influencer told Daily Star. “The worst one was a few years ago," she continued. "I was in it for four hours and they actually had to stop my heart which was really terrifying." Chantelle went on to say that while she doesn't have a "life-threatening" condition, it's still really "scary" to live with day to day.The CBB star also told the publication that she is advised to stay calm when tachycardia hits, but that she finds that "really hard".

Chantelle said the episodes can feel like inside she's "running a marathon" even when she's just sitting on the sofa at home.