Rebecca Lobb is terrified of things that go bump in the night - because the shock could literally kill her.

A slamming door, a ringing telephone or a buzzing alarm clock .... any one of them could be the death knell for the 27-year-old beauty therapist, who suffers from a rare heart condition. 

Noises that startled her from her sleep have so far sparked an astonishing 22 cardiac arrests. 

Three of them were triggered by night-time phone calls and one by a door crashing shut in the wind. 

Rebecca told us: "The arrests are terrifying.  My heartbeat goes haywire. 

"They last several minutes and you really feel like you are dying." 

The problem began when she was 17 and was wrongly diagnosed with epilepsy. 

But Rebecca said: "I always knew that was wrong because the attacks were triggered by things that happened while I was sleeping." 

It was not until last year that medics realised she was suffering from the rare condition, Long QT Syndrome. 

Rebecca, from Truro, Cornwall, told us: "Doctors were amazed I wasn't dead." 

And her condition has caused heartache in the past for her boyfriends without nerves of steel. 

"It hasn't helped relationships," she admitted. 

Since her correct diagnosis, Rebecca's problem has been controlled by a pacemaker which regulates her heart beat and a defibrillator fitted alongside which delivers a small shock if her heartbeat becomes erratic. 

She is now enjoying plenty of beauty sleep, adding: "I've not had a single problem since the pacemaker was fitted.  Though I am staying on the safe side for now and the phones are still off." 

For more information on Cardiac Risk in the Young to www.c-r-y.org.uk