At 22, Faith Phillips was working in fitness, playing hockey and planning her future. Then, one regular afternoon, she suffered a major heart attack that changed almost everything. Today, she runs her own Pilates and wellness studio, helping other women feel stronger and more confident in their bodies.
On 6 January 2024, Faith had spent the day playing hockey in Stafford. Afterwards, she was sitting in the tea room when she began to feel strangely cold, stiff and nauseous.
About 30 minutes into the drive home, the symptoms became much more severe. She experienced crushing chest pain that spread through to her back, her left arm went numb and she began to feel violently sick. “I knew something was seriously wrong, even though I couldn’t put it into words,” she recalls.
When Faith arrived home, her condition continued to deteriorate. She called 999, but despite her history of blood clots, she was initially told she was experiencing a panic attack.
At hospital, an ECG eventually revealed that she was having a major heart attack. She was rushed into resuscitation before being transferred to Royal Stoke University Hospital for emergency surgery to remove a blood clot blocking one of the major arteries supplying her heart. “I was 22 years old. I’d spent the day playing hockey, and suddenly I was fighting for my life.”
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Facing an uncertain future
Faith had already experienced her first deep vein thrombosis (DVT) at 17, followed by another blood clot at 19. Nevertheless, she was active, working as a personal trainer and online coach, and had no idea that such a serious cardiac event lay ahead.
The extent of the damage became clear during her recovery in the coronary care unit. Her heart’s ejection fraction – a measure of how effectively it pumps blood – had fallen to around 27–28%. She was diagnosed with heart failure and told that a heart transplant might be necessary in the future. “Imagine being 22 years old, having just survived a major heart attack, and being told you might need a new heart.”
The months that followed were difficult, both physically and emotionally. Faith had to adjust to life with a severely weakened heart, multiple medications and an uncertain prognosis. She also had to confront the possibility that the future she had imagined might no longer be possible. “I went through what felt like every stage of grief. I was angry, frightened, frustrated and incredibly anxious about the future.”
“I went through what felt like every stage of grief. I was angry, frightened, frustrated and incredibly anxious about the future.”
She began investing in her mental recovery as well as her physical health, paying for therapy and gradually exploring gentler forms of movement. Walking, hiking and eventually Pilates became important parts of her life.
Meanwhile, her heart function began to improve. It eventually recovered to more than 50%, although she continues to live with permanent scarring to her heart muscle and requires ongoing treatment and monitoring. “That improvement was a huge milestone,” she says. “It taught me that even when the outlook is incredibly uncertain, the future isn’t always as predictable as we think.”
Finding a different kind of strength
Before her heart attack, Faith’s life revolved around weightlifting, hockey, running and personal training. Exercise was something she enjoyed, particularly the challenge of pushing herself physically. Afterwards, she began to question some of the attitudes towards fitness that she had previously taken for granted.
“Why do we feel we have to follow such strict routines? Why do we feel guilty if we miss a workout? And why do we sometimes prioritise how exercise makes us look over how it actually makes us feel?”
Her approach to movement has since changed. Rather than following a rigid routine, she adapts her activity to how she feels, whether that means a challenging Pilates session, a walk, some mobility work or simply resting.
She has also reconsidered her approach to nutrition, moving away from rigid fitness targets and towards eating a variety of foods that help her feel energised and well. “Exercise and healthy habits should improve your quality of life, not become another source of pressure,” she says.
Pilates was familiar to Faith because her mum had practised it for years. But it was only after her heart attack, when she began exploring different ways to move, that she discovered how much she enjoyed it.
Coming from a background in high-intensity exercise, she was surprised by how challenging Pilates could be while remaining low-impact. “It’s not just physically challenging. It’s mentally challenging too. You have to think, concentrate, coordinate and almost piece the movement together like a puzzle.”
She went on to qualify in mat and reformer Pilates, as well as gaining further qualifications in areas including pre- and postnatal exercise, menopause and common orthopaedic conditions. For Faith, it was an opportunity to combine her fitness experience with a more adaptable approach to movement – and to help others discover what their bodies could do.
Creating a space where everyone belongs
Faith’s experience also influenced the kind of business she wanted to build. She felt that some fitness environments could be intimidating or overly focused on appearance and athletic performance. She wanted to create a space where women could feel welcome, regardless of their experience, confidence or body shape.
That vision became Heart & Harmony Wellness, her women’s Pilates and wellness studio in Shrewsbury, Shropshire. The studio now offers reformer and mat Pilates, hot mat Pilates, barre and strength training, alongside individual sessions, workshops and community events.
But for Faith, the most rewarding part of running the business is not necessarily the classes themselves. “One of the most meaningful moments since opening was when a member came to speak to me privately about how much the studio had changed her everyday life,” she says.
The member told her she had made friendships, become more confident in her body and found somewhere she could switch off from the pressures of everyday life. “For her, it had become a sanctuary. That moment meant more to me than any business milestone, because it reminded me exactly why we’d opened.”
The member told her she had made friendships, become more confident in her body and found somewhere she could switch off from the pressures of everyday life.
Faith hopes to grow Heart & Harmony further, including developing affordable digital movement resources that make exercise more accessible to people beyond the studio. She wants to show people that movement does not have to involve an hour-long workout or an expensive membership. “Sometimes ten minutes of doing something you enjoy is a brilliant place to start.”
Using her experience to help others
Faith’s recovery has not meant returning to life exactly as it was before. She still takes several medications, has an implantable loop recorder to monitor her heart rhythm and manages the ongoing effects of her previous blood clots and May-Thurner syndrome.
She has also had to learn how to manage the anxiety that can accompany a serious health condition, while balancing her own wellbeing with the demands of running a business. “I’ve learnt that looking after myself isn’t something I can leave until everything else is finished,” she says.
“I’ve learnt that looking after myself isn’t something I can leave until everything else is finished”
Her experience has also given her a reason to speak publicly about heart health, particularly among younger women. After her heart attack, she searched online for other young women who had experienced something similar, but struggled to find their stories. She did not want others to feel as alone as she had.
Faith has since become a British Heart Foundation ambassador, sharing her experience through television, radio, newspapers, podcasts and public speaking. She also hosts her own podcast, Shut the Front Door, where she interviews people about their experiences and stories.
Her message is an important one. Being young and physically active does not make someone immune to cardiovascular disease, and symptoms that could indicate a heart attack should always be taken seriously.
For Faith, raising awareness is also about helping people understand that life with a serious health condition can still include ambition, meaningful work and new opportunities.
A new chapter
Looking back, Faith is proud of what she has built since her heart attack. Alongside qualifying as a Pilates instructor and opening her studio, she has become involved in cardiovascular awareness, discovered a love of public speaking and got married.
She has plenty of ambitions for the future, but her experience has changed how she thinks about success and resilience. “I think resilience is often misunderstood. People imagine it’s about being positive all the time, never struggling and somehow being able to overcome anything. But that’s not my experience.”
Instead, she sees resilience as learning to live with uncertainty, accepting that life might look different from what you had imagined and continuing to move forward even when things are difficult.
Her advice to anyone facing a major health setback is not to put pressure on themselves to return to the person they were before. “Give yourself time, ask for help, celebrate the small victories and don’t underestimate how much strength it takes simply to keep going.”
She adds: “I think sometimes we become so focused on the life we thought we were going to have that we forget there might still be something wonderful ahead of us.”
“I think sometimes we become so focused on the life we thought we were going to have that we forget there might still be something wonderful ahead of us.”
For Faith, a heart attack at 22 was the beginning of a future she could never have anticipated. There are still challenges, and she does not pretend otherwise. But she has found a new direction in helping others feel stronger, more confident and more at home in their bodies.
“My heart attack was the end of one chapter, but it was also the beginning of something completely new. And while I don’t know exactly what the future holds, I’m incredibly excited to find out. I genuinely feel like I’m only just getting started.”
Follow Faith or Heart Harmony Wellness on Instagram.
