Chinese mum almost dies from heart attack when son couldn't do maths problem

The doctor treats the mother at the hospital. Photo / Weibo

A mum from China had a brush with death when her shock at her son's inability to solve a maths problem led to her having a heart attack.

Wang, a 36-year-old from Hubei, was helping her primary-school-aged son with his homework when she became enraged at having to repeatedly explain the maths question to him.

Wang told reporters: "I explained it to him many times but he still couldn't get it. I was so angry that I could explode. Suddenly, my heart was palpitating and I couldn't breathe properly."

Wang called her husband, who rushed her to the hospital where she was diagnosed with myocardial infarction, or a heart attack.

Yang Xiaoxue, a doctor at Xinhua Hospital's internal medicine department, said: "She caught it in time. If there had been any delay, she could have suffered from heart failure."

Wang admitted she would often become frustrated when helping her son with homework but never expected it would lead to life-threatening complications.