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Lauren Canaday's heart stopped beating for a staggering 24 minutes.

She had experienced a severe cardiac arrest whilst at home, and although her husband and subsequently paramedics administered CPR, it took nearly half an hour to revive her.

This was followed by nine days in intensive care, including two spent in a coma.

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While terrifying for her loved ones, Lauren describes this period of unconsciousness in positive terms, even saying when she came back, she no longer had any fear of death.

After regaining consciousness, Lauren said she had no recollection of the week leading up to her heart attack, and had significant gaps in her memory of her hospital stay.

She even found difficulty with basic tasks like speaking and writing, although thankfully doctors confirmed she had not sustained any lasting damage, and she remained "cognitively intact".

However, Lauren says something fundamental had in fact changed as a result of her experience.

Describing the sensation of being clinically dead, she explained that she didn't see a tunnel or a bright light, but instead, she felt something else entirely.

"I remember only a feeling of extreme peace," she said. "That peace stayed with me for weeks after I woke up."

She says the tranquillity was so profound that she still reflects upon it when life becomes overwhelming. Sometimes she even returns to the exact spot on her floor where she collapsed.

"I definitely don't fear death anymore," she said. "Despite not seeing anything distinct, I don't feel worried about it at all."

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Lauren reckons her ordeal has divided her existence into two separate chapters - the period before her cardiac arrest, and everything that followed.

"I feel like my first life ended in February," she said. "And I woke up to my second life."

While she regained sufficient strength to walk, hike and even briefly resume working, she insists she's never genuinely felt herself since.

She now has a defibrillator fitted in her chest, which she confesses acts as a perpetual reminder of her brush with mortality.

"When people tell me I look well, it feels eerie," she said. "Because I don't feel like the same person."