A YORK student who underwent a life-saving operation to remove clots from her lungs is backing a national awareness week to help more people understand her condition.

Izzy Scott, 23, who lives in Heslington, was diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension in December last year.

The disease, which affects just 8,000 people in the UK, causes high pressure in the pulmonary arteries - the blood vessels connecting the heart and lungs.

Izzy, who is studying a theatre degree at the University of York and is now recovering well said: "It took me as year to get my diagnosis of CTEPH because my doctor had no idea what it was.

"I was told it was asthma, and then anxiety, and all that time I was struggling to walk and couldn't socialise. It was like I lost a year of my life.

As well as severe breathlessness, Izzy suffered with chest pain and severe water retention.

She added: "It was frightening knowing there was something wrong, so it was a relief to finally get a diagnosis."