Sally Halil had at least two heart attacks before cardiologists at Warwick Hospital diagnosed her with spontaneous coronary artery dissection.

There are only 100 reported cases of the illness around the world.

Doctors thought it was unlikely she had a heart condition. The hospital said it did not comment on individual cases.

Million pounds

Mrs Halil has spoken about her condition ahead of the British Heart Foundation's Help a Heart Week which starts on Monday.

She said that when she first went into hospital with pain in her chest, doctors thought it was unlikely to be a heart condition.

Mrs Halil told BBC WM in Coventry and Warwickshire: "Still they weren't treating me as a serious heart patient.

"What then happened was someone saw my ECG, which is a measurement they do on the heart muscle.

"I can remember the doctor looking at this and actually telling me, 'You've had a heart attack. However I would bet a million pounds, if I had it, that you haven't had a heart attack.'

"Looking at me I don't look like the sort of person even he, a medic, would expect to have a heart attack."

In a statement, Dr Nigel Clarke, the lead consultant cardiologist at South Warwickshire General Hospitals NHS Trust, said: "Recently a case of spontaneous artery dissection was reported in the press.

"This is an extremely rare condition, more commonly affecting women and usually occurs in normal coronary arteries.