Edinburgh University | Heart attack waiting to happen

Today’s UK News featured a new imaging technique that could find people at highest risk of a Heart Attack:

When fatty deposits, known as plaques, build up in the arteries and rupture it can cause a Heart Attack. The new test detects the fatty plaques on the brink of rupture. There is currently no way to identify these.
In the UK, 200 people die each day from a Heart Attack.

The research that resulted in this breakthrough was funded by the British Heart Foundation.

I already know from my angiogram that one of my arteries is partially blocked. I also know that a rupture to the plaque in another of my arteries caused my Heart Attack. The good news is, the various drugs I take each day will reduce the chances of me having a repeat episode.

It’s easy for me to forget what I’ve been through and how lucky I was to be treated so quickly and efficiently. It’s also too easy for all of us to take medical advances for granted.

Today’s News served as a reminder for me: a reminder of my good fortune, and a reminder of why it’s important for me to keep training, complete my ride and raise some cash for the British Heart Foundation.

Please feel free to chip in: http://www.justgiving.com/heartattackwaitingtohappen