Tag Archives: Health

Developments

Stress, noun
1. Pressure or tension exerted on a material object:
2. A state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or demanding circumstances:
3. particular emphasis or importance

A typical Cardiac Rehabilitation Relaxation session

At the end of each Cardiac Rehabilitation session, we have 30 minutes of “relaxation”; gentle music, overlaid with softly spoken instructions to focus on eliminating tension from different parts of the body (“now we’ll focus on our thighs…”), breathing deeply and generally chilling out.

It feels good, indulgent. It rounds off the Rehab session before heading out into the big wide world.

According to Wikipedia; “the body’s way to respond to stress is by sympathetic nervous system activation which results in the fight-or-flight response”.

I’m not entirely sure where lying down with your eyes closed, chillaxing fits in to this evolutionary response – I’m sure it will become clear in time, but we haven’t done our “Stress Management” education session yet! (It was actually supposed to be last week, but it got switched with “Medication” at the last minute!)

I guess that we are made to deal with our challenges face on, or to turn tail and run away! Biologically, we’re not made to dwell some things too much. Relaxation is a good way of re-establishing a sense of calm and stability after doing what you need to do.

The bottom line is, we all face stressful situations of differing degrees every day. They cannot be avoided. Even locking yourself away can be stressful for most of us (“What’s going on outside?”)…

Which brings me to my stress of the week…

We recently received a Planning Permission notice for a house to be built at the top of our garden. Seven houses in total, in two plots, but it’s the one that will overlook our house, replacing a nice wooded area that I’m concerned about.

Fortunately, there’s a simple solution that will allow the development to proceed without giving us too much cause for concern.

Unfortunately, the people that have applied for the Planning permission seem to think it’s OK to ignore us, and have been doing so for several years!

It’s very frustrating!

I find I need to think relaxed, warm, calming thoughts each time the potential development enters my mind… slow, deep breaths… “You are feeling relaxed”.

We will fight. There is a course of action we can follow.

I will practice my relaxation, and hope they have a section on “responding to unwanted planning applications” as part of the “Stress Management” session when it’s eventually held!

Ch… Ch… Ch… Changes (FD +50)

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Doesn’t time fly!

It’s the big Five-Zero! Fifty days since I had my Heart Attack. Seven weeks and a day. Forever, and no time at all.

Doesn’t time fly when you’re having fun! 🙂

To say a lot has changed would be an understatement. Some changes have been forced on me. Some have been voluntary*. Others have been a consequence of circumstances.

Scary?

“It must have been scary!”… No, not really. At no point over the past 51 days have I felt like my life was in imminent danger. However, it doesn’t take much imagination to see that things could have gone that way. In the UK, one in three people who have a Heart Attack don’t make it to hospital.

The next time you’re in a lift with two other people, imagine one of you not making it to your floor. I was in that lift. I was lucky. I didn’t realise how much danger I was potentially in until afterwards. By that stage, the immediate danger was over and the ball was in my court (more or less).

A new Dad (in reverse)

In some ways, it feels like part of me died when I had the Heart Attack. Not in a bad way. In a way that created space for new parts of me to grow in their place. In fact, its probably more correct to say “dormant” rather than “new”, many aspects of the “new” me have been there before. A very long time ago! So long ago that only close family members and very old friends might recognise them. As far as the girls are concerned, I am a new, thinner, slightly bizarre, “active” Dad.

Even knowing what I know now, I’m not sure if there is anything that would have convinced me to make some of the changes I have done in advance of something “happening”. It still all seems slightly surreal. Perhaps if someone I knew well, who I could easily relate to, had been through the same thing as I have, it might have been enough for me to take action. Perhaps.

The bottom line is, if you want to, it’s not that difficult to convince yourself that it won’t happen to you. That you’re low risk. Different from people like me.

Awareness isn’t enough!

You need to take action to make a difference.

It doesn’t surprise me that prevention of Heart Disease is such a challenge. For many (me included) it requires big changes to make a difference. I guess the key is to keep any changes small, to recognise when you’re veering of course and make minor corrections to keep you on track. So many people are so far off course that small changes just aren’t enough.

For me, my broken heart has been fixed, the course has been corrected and I’m looking to the future.

Catching up

I have some catching up to do – a holiday with the family (although Florida must wait!), recognising the patience of my colleagues, repaying the goodwill of our clients, and sustaining the lifestyle I’ve adopted since leaving hospital so none of us have to go through this again!

Here’s to the next 50 days… and making it count!

***

*Voluntary is probably a bit strong. I’m not sure I had a huge amount of choice in any of the changes, but I guess even the perception of choice makes them more palatable.

Honesty is the best policy (FD +46)

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Honesty is the best policy!

Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve noticed people looking at me with a little sympathy in their expressions. I had assumed it was because they knew I had been away recuperating after the Heart Attack, and they felt sorry for me.

I could understand it… if I was in their position, I’d find it difficult to know what to say. I’d probably have mixed emotions. I’d be glad they were “OK” and back at work but relieved it didn’t happen to me, and a little concerned that it could happen in the future. That made sense.

Today, someone was honest with me…

“I thought you look like you’ve lost weight because you’re really sick!”

I didn’t realise trying to get fit would result in such a harrowing experience for others! Sorry!

I feel good. Better than I have in a long time.

As I’ve said previously, I tend to lose weight in my face first, so a little weight loss may look a bit more extreme than it is in reality. I can assure you, there’s still plenty of scope for slimming down before I get anywhere near my fighting weight.

I guess it’ll just take a little time for people to get used to the new, evolving shape of me… and get comfortable with the fact I’m not just fading away!

Don’t start the day in a rush!

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Wake up! Wake up! Get a move on!

Before I had my Heart Attack my day started in a rush. My goal was to get to work as quickly as possible. Time was money. Every second counted.

I didn’t do breakfast.

I’d grab a coffee (and “back in the day”, a cigarette) as a “wake me up” when I arrived at the office.

I realise now that this set the rhythm of my day. I was rushing from the minute the alarm went off. This typically lasted until I’d finished work, usually a couple of hours after arriving home.

A healthy and happy start to the day!

I now have a new routine, enforced by the need to take my morning medication. After that, I sit and eat. I don’t eat anything special, fruit, yoghurt, wholemeal toast, cereal, etc. but it really sets me up for the day. The time I take to sit and eat, just a few minutes, allows me to gather my thoughts, helping establish a more sustainable rhythm for the day.

A recent study published American Heart Association journal emphasises the importance of a healthy start to the day. Men who reported missing breakfast had a 27 per cent higher risk of heart attack or death from coronary heart disease than those who reported eating a morning meal. (Click on the picture below to read more).

Breakfast, but not the healthiest option!

It’s never too soon

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No-one ever thinks they will get impacted by Heart Disease. We live in blissful ignorance until one day, if they’re lucky, they get a “warning”, a “wake up call”.

Many aren’t that lucky.

In 2010, over 45,000 people under the age of 75 died of Heart Disease in the UK.

That’s certainly how it was for me. I was bullet-proof. Until I wasn’t.

Once a week, the Cardiac Rehabilitation sessions have an hour of education. I consider this the “Community Service” session, where I do the time for the crimes I’ve committed in the past. The same crimes as many people, but I got caught!

This morning we talked about the anatomy of the heart. We covered much of the same ground when I was in hospital (see “You are what you eat“). I’ve had 5 weeks to think about what I could or should have asked… our questions and concerns were on a completely different level back then.

What I learnt today…

The reason why atheroma builds up in some arteries and not others is not known
The build up can start early (in your teenage years)
Once it’s there, there’s nothing that can be done to reverse the build-up of atheroma
It can only get worse, not better (drugs can help reduce the associated risk, but don’t reverse the build-up either)
The only way of assessing the build-up is by performing an angiogram which itself carries a risk of 1 death in 1,000 from Heart Attack or Stroke
Prevention is the best strategy
It’s too late for me to adopt this strategy (but I knew that already!)

What’s happened to me could happen to anyone. It’s never too soon to become aware. Never too soon to take evasive action.

I know it doesn’t seem real, particularly if you’re young, fit and healthy. It won’t. Until it is. And then it’s too late.

Try something new

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Personally, I’m still waiting for the magic!

Apparently “trying something new” is good for you… keeping you young at heart, pushing back the boundaries of boredom, interested and interesting.

I don’t think the “Live a little… have a heart attack!” T-Shirts will fly off the shelves, but there’s certainly been quite a lot new in my life over the past few weeks. You wouldn’t expect to find many of the things I’ve been introduced to on anyone’s “101 things to do before you die” list, but they’ve certainly set things in an unexpected and different direction,

Today was somewhat of an exception as there was an element of planning involved… I collected a Turbo Trainer and introduced a bike into my exercise regime.

The humble beginnings of a beautiful relationship with a bicycle

I continue to exercise regularly. Having returned to work, and working my way back towards full days, I have cut back to one exercise session a day. My staple exercise is still walking, but I’m slowly expanding my repertoire. Cardiac Rehabilitation has introduced me to a range of exercises. As I get stronger, I can (very slowly!) expand my horizons.

The whole exercise thing is strange for me though…

I was fit in my youth. I did a lot of sport. I trained 5 days a week for athletics, travelling miles to train, compete and get fixed (at the physio). I reached quite a high standard. We trained properly. It was fun but serious (to us at least).

Before I left University I got lazy as far as physical exercise was concerned. There’s been the occasional burst of activity since (a tennis season in Bahrain, 5-a-side Football, a Squash ladder), but nothing sustained… few and far between.

Coming back to it now is bizarre. Mentally I’m still where I was when I was a fit 18 year old. Physically I’m a complete mess… weak and unfit… and that was before the Heart Attack!

I’m going to have to very slowly build my fitness back up. Balancing the desire to do more, with the need to look after my heart. One step at a time.

I’m still looking for a long term challenge… cycling is a tempting option: a weekend in the Alps with the boys, part of the peloton for a couple of days.

At the moment however I wouldn’t even be able to make it home if I headed out on a bike (our house is at the top of a hill). So today I started putting in the hours (well half an hour at least). Stationary. In the garage. Plodding (if it’s possible to plod on a bike!)

The road to our house is not quite as tough as this!

I would estimate I need to do a couple of thousand miles of conditioning before I’m ready to hit the open road… only 1,998 to go!!! 🙂

Awakening (FD +35)

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Five weeks ago today I was spending my first day in hospital trying to come to terms with having just had a Heart Attack. It seems like only yesterday, and a lifetime ago at the same time.

Lots of things have changed without needing to make an effort change them. The cumulative effect of many small alterations have resulted in some big differences: differences to what I do. differences to how I do it. I’m still the same person, although you might find it increasingly difficult to recognise me.

Is it sustainable? Will I change back?

People say that over time I’ll forget what’s happened to me, what everyone has been through; I’m not convinced. Apparently only a very small percentage of people who have experienced Heart “Events” actually make lasting, positive changes to their lifestyles. Will I be one of them?

There are lots of reminders out there… since I’ve been out of hospital the unfortunate deaths of James Gandolfini and, only yesterday, Mel Smith, have hit the headlines. A few weeks on from Gandolfini’s death, it’s unfortunate to see that more lessons appear to have been learned (more correctly, reported) about Estate Planning than the cause of his death (which I suspect is more relevant than the vast majority of us!).

In a lot of respects I’m a novice at many of the new features of my life: healthy eating, regular exercise, weight loss, relaxation, medication. but I’m not making any new discoveries. The things that I’m learning are obvious to many if not most people. I guess I was aware of them myself to a certain degree, somewhere below the surface, buried deep enough not to influence my day to day actions.

Remind yourself: Preventing Heart Disease

The single biggest “awakening” for me is what I eat and drink. Given I’m trying to eat healthily (Healthy Heart) and also trying to lose some weight (Calorie Control), I’m very aware of what I’m eating now. The scary thing was how unaware I was before. I’m quickly starting to realise that anything that has been “prepared” (by others) is likely to have been “abused” in some way… addition of large quantities of Salt and Sugar.

A light, tasty snack!

There are so many examples of seemingly healthy or wholesome foods that are really not great for you, it’s unreal! And that’s only looking at the “healthy” choices… a fraction of what’s available.

I know I’m late to the party. I’m sure you were aware of the hazards lurking in our supermarket aisles, but there are plenty of people that aren’t… aren’t aware, don’t care or are hiding from reality (as I was).

Just another week… (FD +33)

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So, the end of “just another week”… back to work and starting Cardiac Rehabilitation. Fortunately both events were tailored to the needs of a survivor of a recent Heart Attack… gentle introductions with lots of attentive people looking out for me.

I’m lucky enough to work with people who care enough to take my recent escapade into consideration. I have been largely protected from any noise that arose during my recuperation, and much of my week was spent within the confines of a “stress free” protection zone. A disproportionately high number of discussions ended with the words “…but you don’t need to worry about that.”

I was very much a part-timer this week – following the instructions of my various advisors (including trying to “listen to my body”). As the days go by, I’m able to do more. Go longer between rests. Recover more quickly. Slowly returning to some sort of “normality” to return.

Over time things will definitely return to normal… I’ve already noticed myself “rushing” around, and getting unnecessarily frustrated when dealing with morons / imbeciles / idiots*. The difference at the moment is that I’m more aware of these occurrences.

Ultimately, my health is my personal responsibility. I need to learn how to deal with these situations in a reasonable fashion. If my plan is to rely on people protecting me from morons / imbeciles / idiots* and the stresses of the world I’m going to have to live a very sheltered life!!!

* Delete as applicable.

Standing up and Sitting down (FD + 31)

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We are encouraged not to “blur” at Cardiac Rehabilitation as it can result in over-exertion

It turns out that standing up and sitting down on a chair repeatedly over even a relatively short period of time can be tiring.

Yesterday turned out to be a an introduction and assessment day at Cardiac Rehabilitation. A bit of an anti-climax to be honest, but not a disaster. The “proper” sessions started this morning.

So… I discovered that walking on a treadmill is fine, cycling on an exercise bike is a breeze, cross-trainer (minus arms) is comfortable, but standing up and sitting down (poor man’s squats, I guess) hurt. Not a scary, Cardiac Rehab, “somebody get a doctor” kind of hurt, but my legs clearly weren’t used to that kind of exertion. They hurt then and ache now.

[Try it yourself. Sit on a normal dining-type chair and stand upright, sit and stand, sit and stand. Repeat continuously for 3 minutes. If you struggle, perhaps you need to get some more exercise too!]

It was a different exercise experience for me. I guess I’m starting from a different place. I’m not just a little bit unfit. I have had a Heart Attack. I don’t really want another one. So this needs to be about taking the exercise seriously, but not doing too much serious exercise: Warm up. Work out (moderate exertion). Cool down. And relax.

I now have a maximum Heart Rate. I’m not sure I’ve ever had one before. If I have, I’ve certainly never owned a device to monitor it. I do now. I’ve got a shiny new watch that tells me everything I need to know (unfortunately only while exercising). My magic number is 118! [220 minus 42 (age) minus 30 (drug factor) multiplied by 80% if you’re interested.]

I tend to keep my shirt on… it reduces stress all round!

I was the only person with a (personal) heart monitoring device (no-one commented, but I did get a few looks). Everyone else relied on the kit provided – which involved a single measure mid-way through the exercise programme. I guess there’s a risk that I take this a bit too seriously, but I don’t think it’s over the top to want to know if you’re approaching your maximum heart rate, is it? (I maxed out at 112 bpm, incidentally).

Anyway, 1 session and 715 calories down…
15 and lots more to go!

Top down and Bottom up

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People lose weight in different ways; Some lose it in fits and starts, getting seemingly random outputs from consistent inputs; Some struggle to lose any, no matter what they try; While others only seem to need to think about going on a diet for the weight to fall away. I’m sure these change over time too: “past performance is not necessarily a guide to future performance”.

Someone else’s feet!

For me, it appears that I’m losing weight from the top down and the bottom up. To date my “health kick” (this should be “lifestyle change”, but let’s take it one step at a time”) has not extended beyond thinking about what I put in my mouth and walking (up to 2 miles, twice a day).

I think these small changes have started to deliver some results: my legs have definitely “shaped up” a bit as a result of the regular exercise, and while shaving off my facial hair last night I discovered evidence of a long forgotten jaw bone.

The upside of losing weight in your face is that it’s relatively easy to show external signs of progress. The downside is that it’s easy to declare success too early, before the hard work has been done. (Not this time!)

As a result, I was greeted on several occasions today (my first day back in the office) with:

“You look much healthier than you did before!”
“Yes,” I was tempted to respond, “but the last time you saw me I was a heart attack waiting to happen!”

So, independent verification that things are headed in the right direction!

Someone else’s body!

The next task is to move forward with the fitness regime… I wouldn’t say I was particularly toned right now. In fact, the combination of losing weight from the top down and bottom up, together with years of giving up diets too soon, has resulted in all the pies gathering around my midriff, in combination with my Umpa Lumpa feet (Always wear sunscreen) I’m really not an attractive sight!

Rehabilitation starts tomorrow. I’m not exactly sure what to expect, but I’m really looking forward to it!