Stressed-out bride has a heart attack... but she manages to walk up the aisle a week later

Sharon and her fiance Mark Boks were determined to go ahead with the wedding after spending 18 months planning it

It is one of the most stressful events in a woman’s life.
And for bride Sharon Ransley the pressure to ensure she had the wedding of her dreams triggered a heart attack.
The office manager had been preparing for her big day for 18 months.
But a week after her hen night, and as she made the final touches to plans for her £9,000 country hotel ceremony and reception, she collapsed with chest pains.
Despite her protests that she was simply having a panic attack, her fiancé Mark Boks, a 45-year-old landscape gardener, rang for an ambulance.
At hospital, medical staff fought to restart her heart. And, incredibly, just over a week later the couple managed to walk up the aisle.
Last night the new Mrs Sharon Boks, 39, said: ‘No one expected the wedding would go ahead

Running on nervous energy: Bride Sharon Ransley suffered a heart attack a week before her wedding

But Mark and I had spent 18 months looking forward to it. Many of our 65 guests were flying in from abroad and we had booked a sit-down wedding breakfast.
‘My bespoke ivory dress was in my wardrobe, the flowers had been chosen and a luxury honeymoon to Thailand was paid for.
‘After all the planning and hard work, I was absolutely determined to get married.’
Describing her heart attack, she said: ‘I had spent the day sorting out the seating plan and when I went to bed I felt quite stressed.
‘So when I woke up at 5am hyperventilating and shaking I put it down to a panic attack.’

Following an hour-long resuscitation procedure at Basildon Hospital, the bride-to-be was transferred to Broomfield Hospital near her home in Chelmsford, Essex.
‘I was just grateful to be alive,’ she said. ‘After two days I was allowed home but told to take things easy. However, it seemed a shame to waste all my hard work.


Tests later revealed Mrs Boks, who married in March, had undiagnosed diabetes, which probably raised her heart attack risk.
‘The stress and excitement was the final trigger,’ she added. ‘It’s only now I can see that although I loved preparing for my big day I was also running on nervous energy and adrenaline.’
According to the psychiatric Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale – which lists the 43 most stressful events that might cause illness – getting married comes seventh.