Isabelle's life transformed by 'detection puppy' Ralph

20-year-old with heart condition faints every day

- By Matthew Barbour

ADORABLE dog Ralph is cute enough to make anyone swoon, but when that happens to owner Isabelle Hall, Ralph has been trained to make sure it always happens safely.

The 20-year-old has a heart condition that makes her faint several times a day. And thanks to her faithful friend she has now been given a new lease of life.

Isabelle had become too scared to leave her house as she would drop to the ground without warning often ending up in hospital with injuries.

But after learning from a friend who is a district nurse that dogs can detect such medical conditions and warn her an incident was coming, she started researching this online.

She suffers with a condition called postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, meaning her heart rate can soar to over 200 beats a minute, along with low blood pressure.

After completing her GCSE exams she started experiencing pins and needles in her limbs, then began fainting more and more regularly.