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I was 36, about to get married - how could I be having a heart attack? In sickness and in health: Sholto Byrnes with fiancee Farah Rahim Ismail, who runs the Aicon Gallery in Heddon Street.

Article Excerpt
A SHARP jab in my chest prompted me to cry out in pain. "Right, that'sit," said my fiancee, Farah, who was busy checking medical sites in the study."I'm taking you to A& E." Minutes earlier, sitting down after dinner with aglass of wine, I felt myself rapidly overheating, then breaking out in a coldsweat as my heartbeat accelerated alarmingly.

I'd hoped that resting quietly in a dark room would slow the internal enginethat, unbidden, was revving itself furiously.

The sudden pain suggested not. The words didn't need to be said. We boththought I could be in the early stages of a heart attack.

Being only 36, this was a pretty terrifying prospect. Especially as I was aboutto get married to Farah, thousands of miles away. As I sat in the back of aspeeding mini-cab on my way to the Royal Free Hospital, I wondered if the 80 orso guests from Europe and America who'd already paid for flights to Malaysia,where Farah is from, would be able to claim refunds if I had to undergoemergency surgery. Would I ever be able to play squash again? Or even sprint upa flight of stairs? Had the non-stop lifestyle of my twenties finally caught meupwith a vengeance? This last question I'd been trying to ignore for a monthsince I'd first experienced the same worrying symptoms on the Victoria line into work. After a late night at a dinner, I'd started the day early with avigorous gym workout. Perhaps I'd overdone it on the cross-trainer, I toldmyself as I made my way, slightly dazed, from the Tube to my office. Then thejabbing pains in my chest began.

Colleagues noticed something wasn't quite right and asked sympatheticquestions, but I didn't want to worry them. The truth was I didn't want toworry myself.

Later I found myself so desperately tired I had to lie down, so I...

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