Kate Nash talks of heart op

Kate Nash was told she could die if she didn't have an operation on her heart.

The 'Foundations' singer suffered from tachycardia - a condition which speeds up heart rate and causes palpitations - and was told it could be fatal if she didn't undergo risky surgery.

The 20-year-old star said: "I suffered from tachycardia, which gives you palpitations and chest pains. The doctors gave me the option of having a procedure to get it fixed, but there were risks. I put it off but then two years ago, it started happening every night, so I decided to go through with it.

"It could have been life-threatening. They told me the operation had loads of risks - strokes, heart attacks, pacemakers - but in the end I just thought, 'Anything could happen.' So I had the procedure and got it out of the way, thank God."

Kate - who was named Best British Female at last month's BRITs - says the illness increased her determination to make it big in the music industry.

She added to Britain's New! magazine: "I'm quite a driven person anyway but it really pushed me. All my friends were going to university or drama school and I could have moped around because I didn't get a place. But I didn't - I started playing live, making flyers, going to open-mic nights and emailing people."