A 22-STONE health care assistant collapsed and died of a heart attack as she prepared to start her duty shift, a coroner has been told.

The mother-of-five, Lilhiane Mbouyi, had tried a number of things to trim back her weight including having a gastric band fitted.

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She was also found with diet pills in her handbag when she fell over and died alone in a bathroom at the BUPA health centre where she worked in Winnersh.

A worried colleague used a screwdriver to get into the locked bathroom and found the 47-year-old dead on the floor, wrapped only in a towel.

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A coroner, who heard details of a post mortem examination on her body, concluded that she died of natural causes in relation to an overworked heart.

Pathologist Dr Renan Gardy confirmed she suffered a heart attack whilst preparing for work.

She was identified by her manager Donna Hern.

Assistant coroner Ian Wade said: "She was a heavy lady, there is no doubt that she was trying hard to deal with her obesity.

"She was getting progressively quite large and that put a strain on her.

"There was a problem with her cholesterol that was not obvious to her.

"It seems to me in late 2018 she was not able to reduce her weight and that was clearly having an ongoing effect - but she would have been unaware of it.

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"It seems to me there was quite a strain on her heart and the post-mortem examination shows some of the damage to which her heart was being subjected."

Dr Pamela Rai, principal of the Argyle Health Isleworth Practice told the inquest: "In 2007 Lilhiane had a gastric band fitted but in 2014 it had to be deflated due to fluid build up.

"She had not lost any weight with it, she had only put on weight.

"They were considering having a bypass but they were reluctant until she could take some control over her weight.

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"She was seeing a dietician regularly.

"On one occasion, at a check-up at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital her Body Mass Index (BMI) was 49 - the ideal BMI is 20 to 25."

In her live evidence, the pathologist stated that one of Lilhaine's arteries was 50 per cent blocked, meaning blood struggled to flow through and possibly Lilhiane suffered a coronary artery spasm which "may have been stress-related or could have been down to exercise she was doing in the bathroom. There is no way to know," Ms Gardy added.

Concluding the inquest on Thursday Mr Wade said: "Lilhiane was taking advantage of the facilities at work when she suddenly and unexpectedly suffered in effect a heart attack.

"She was very young.

"Her death on November 6, 2018, was a result of natural causes relating to her heart. It was unique to Lilhiane."

The inquest heard that she lived in Isleworth, west London and worked in Winnersh, Reading.