AN ABERGELE woman with a heart condition that causes dangerous seizures has lost five-and-a-half stone after her weight prevented vital surgery.

Julie Edwards, 58, struggled with exercise due in part to her weight - but also a serious heart condition.

She has atrial fibrillation and an enlarged left ventricle, which causes in increased heart rate, irregular heartbeat and even seizures.

But when exploring ways to cure her heart problems, her cardiologist explained the critical operations could not go ahead. 

"My heart rate is irregular and can sometimes be very fast, sometimes considerably higher than 100 beats-per-minute," said Julie. 

"This can cause dizziness, shortness of breath and tiredness and I had three seizures before being diagnosed. The final straw came when my Cardiologist explained he was unable to go ahead with a much-needed heart procedure because my weight was such a high-risk factor."

According to the latest figures from the British Heart Foundation, heart and circulatory diseases cause more than quarter of all deaths in the UK. Each year more than 170,000 deaths are caused by heart conditions – an average of 480 each day or one every three minutes. Around 31,000 of those deaths are attributed to excess weight and obesity

That bombshell prompted her to seek help to lose weight with her local Slimming World group at Eglwys Mynydd Seion.

"I had tried several faddy diets without much success at all," said Julie. "All of them worked in the short term, but were overly restrictive which wasn’t for me, so I always ended up regaining the weight.

"It took a lot to walk into Eglwys Mynydd Seion but I had come to terms with the fact I needed to do something about my weight to survive.

"The consultant, Pauline Jones, reassured me and helped me realise it was worth putting the effort in to lose the weight and to love myself again."

Since joining the group in March 2023 Julie has lost 5st 7lbs and has just 9.5 lbs to lose to reach her goal weight and hopefully have the surgery she needs. 

"Julie actually can’t wait to see her cardiologist again," said Pauline. "She really is such an inspiration for anyone out there struggling with their health."

Slimming World classes take place at Eglwys Mynydd Seion on Wednesdays at 7.30am, 9am, 10.30am, 5.30pm and 7pm and new members are welcome.