Tag Archives: Heart Attack

Time for a service

With under two weeks to go until I start the Euro City Cycle, it seemed like a sensible time to get a pre-ride check-up for myself and the bike.

I was due a check in with my GP anyway. It’s been almost 3 months since my last visit. In fact, I hadn’t seen him since I went to the Cardiologist, so it was an opportunity to get some more feedback on that. One of the potential side effects of my medication is diabetes so we had fasting blood test results to look at too.

You may feel a little prick!

It’s funny but, after everything I’ve been through, one of the things I look forward to least is giving blood. I know it doesn’t really hurt, but I don’t enjoy the anticipation of the “prick”. What a wimp! The only good news is that my veins are a bit more prominent now so the whole process is a bit less traumatic than it used to be.

My check up was unremarkable. My Blood Pressure was “perfect”. My Cholesterol levels are under control (Total = 3.2 mmol/L, LDL = 1.8 mmol/L, HDL = 1.1 mmol/L) and there are no indications of diabetes. In summary, it’s all good!

The Doc was, however, keen to remind me that I have recently experienced a cardiac episode, and I should bear this in mind when doing my various activities and challenges. I recognise he had to say it, but I don’t think I hid my excitement about the fast approaching trip very well! I guess he has to trust (or hope) his patients follow his instructions otherwise he’s fighting a losing battle. He has little to worry about as far as I’m concerned!

***

I really haven’t done very much work on my bike since I got it. Apart from a couple of puncture repairs and fitting a new saddle, I have used it, but done little to maintain it. I know I should really learn, but I also recognise my limitations. At this stage I think I would struggle in terms of knowledge, skills and perseverance. The last thing I want to do is intentionally “break” the bike and not be able to ride it.

This is about the extent of my bicycle maintenance skills!

The main objectives of the service are to tune the gears and check the brakes. The gears have become increasingly temperamental and noisy over the past couple of weeks. It’s been helpful in telling me which gear I’m in (some are particularly noisy), but I have the distinct feeling that its an indication that all is not well!

So, the bike is booked in for a service tomorrow. Hopefully it’ll come back feeling like a new machine, with the gears purring and the brakes secure.

If only it was as easy to tune ourselves up!

Living life on the edge

9 Replies

Don’t tell anyone, but yesterday I went on a Water Slide. Given my Heart “Condition” it was an illegal act, but one that was considered at length (well, considered at least) before I took the plunge.

I’m not sure exactly where the perceived risks lay; it certainly wasn’t too frightening nor particularly exhilarating, it didn’t require significant physical exertion, and it didn’t expose me to dramatic changes in my environment. Still, it was forbidden and I did it, and it felt good (apart from slightly battered elbows).

If the exhilaration doesn't get you, the stair might!

If the exhilaration doesn’t get you, the climb might!

Following the Heart Attack, it took me a while to get comfortable re-exposing myself to life’s risks. What I’ve discovered is that they generally fall into one of two categories:

Sudden trauma; “one off” events that don’t happen on a day to day basis. Accidents would fall into this category, events that are outside our direct control. I would also include extreme sports where the activity, situation or environment is a factor.
Steady decline; day to day behaviours that are detrimental to our wellbeing or our health. The things we do where the numbers conspire against us over time. A single occurrence is unlikely to get us, but the compound effect might.

I’ve come to believe that the second category is most dangerous. It takes no effort, no thought but is guaranteed if you’re on that path.

Of course, there’s a third category… the risk of doing nothing; opting out, becoming irrelevant, out of touch. Becoming so cautious that life loses excitement, hope.

For many years, I was in steady decline, arrested only by the Heart Attack. It kicked my behind and prompted me into action.

Now I’m back on the right course, I’m not going to throw it away by taking silly risks, but at the same time I’m going to live my life. I will think about what I’m doing, weigh up the risks, and from time to time live life on the edge!

OK, so I won’t be doing that any time soon!

Epic journeys

2 Replies

There are just 31 days until I start the Euro City Cycle (London to Amsterdam to Brussels, 300 miles over 4 days) and I’m entering the final stages of my preparation.

When I originally signed up for the event it really was a stretch target. No-one was in a position to tell me I would be able to do it. I was still in Cardiac Rehab. The medical professionals weren’t going to encourage me to push myself too hard, and the rest of us had no idea what I’d be capable of. I really was heading into the unknown. To be honest, it would have been considered a challenge even without the Heart Attack given my lack of physical activity.

Committing to the event was scary too. It set a hard deadline. If I hadn’t been able to do it due to medical concerns it would have said something about the impact my Heart Attack was going to have on the rest of my life. It would have been much easier for me to “wait and see”, to only to commit to something I knew I could do, but that’s not really me, and certainly not how I want to live.

***

Yesterday’s cycle served as a reminder of how far I’ve come…

Having got a solid winter’s training under my belt, primarily inside on the Turbo Trainer, I’ve been slowly building the distance outside. Yesterday saw a big jump to 80 miles! If the truth been told, it was probably too big a jump (from just under 60 miles). We weren’t really monitoring the miles, we just followed a route. It was a tough ride, but good to complete!

A few weeks ago I took on “proper” hills for the first time. My initial hilly cycle resulted in me walking for part of two of the three main inclines. I hadn’t considered that I would need to develop a strategy for hills, to learn how to cycle up them, but that’s exactly what was required. Now I’ve got to the point where I enjoy a good climb. Each one represents an honest, visible and tangible challenge, laid out right in front of me.

Over time I’ve also become less obsessed by my Heart Rate. I constantly monitor it, but I’m more relaxed. The last time I visited the Cardiologist he was comfortable with me cycling and was happy that the medication would prevent me from pushing myself too hard. It’s therefore become less of a concern for me, less of a constraint.

The drugs are working. My short term recovery is amazing. It’s a combination of the medication and my improving fitness but, after having pushed myself hard, my Heart Rate can drop off by 30 beats per minute in a couple of minutes. I feel it too. I enjoy regular breaks to eat / drink, but I don’t need long before I’m good to go again.

***

Having completed yesterday’s epic cycle I’m going to take a few days away from the Road Bike. Instead, I’ll have some fun on the Mountain Bike, a machine that has been horribly neglected over the past few months.

There are just four more Saturday outings before I head south for the Euro City Cycle itself. It’s just a milestone on my rehabilitation journey, but it’s an important one. My key goals at this point are to stay fit and healthy. Fingers crossed!

Spring forward

3 Replies

Changing the clocks to British Summer Time seems to be more significant this year than just the loss of an hour’s sleep. For me it feels like it marks the beginning of an exciting new phase.

Hopefully this isn’t your first notification!

The fast approaching Cycle extravaganzas are a big factor. I’ve been working on my preparations throughout the winter, primarily putting in the miles on the Turbo Trainer. I’ve already been getting outside regularly over the past few weeks, the time change and the lengthening days will hopefully make this an increasingly frequent and pleasurable occurrence.

The countdown clock for the first event, the Euro City Cycle, will soon tick down to days rather than months, As it gets increasingly closer it’s going to be difficult to contain my excitement! I am really looking forward to it! (Did I mention that already? 🙂)

It’s nice to be reaping some of the rewards from the hours of training over the winter. As the saying goes, “It doesn’t get any easier, you just go faster.”, but at least I’ve established a solid platform for the summer’s activities.

We’ll be heading off to a Holiday / Activity Centre for a few days during the Easter break. This time I’m really looking forward to the things I can do rather than thinking about the things I can’t. This is a big change from the last time we went away as a family. I really enjoyed our time away, but my Heart Attack was still a major factor, both psychological and physical. It feels very different now.

OK, so there may be some activities that I won’t be doing!

It’s all a little bit more “normal” for all of us. We all have much more confidence in what I am capable of doing and my lifestyle choices are no longer “strange”. It should lead to a much more relaxed time away, albeit active! Again, I’m really looking forward to it!

***

I’ve generally tried to maintain a positive outlook on life since the Heart Attack. I’ve never really found this difficult to conjure up, but sometimes it was more to make me feel good rather than because I was feeling good.

At the moment it doesn’t take any effort at all. Life is good and there’s lots to look forward to!

Confused

3 Replies

Every so often someone will ask me what I’ve done to lose weight, or what should be included as part of a Healthy Heart diet?

Over the past 9 months I have managed to get myself into reasonable shape, partly through exercise and partly through watching what I eat and drink. I’ve taken a fairly hard line in determining what I should be consuming: low saturated fat, lots of fruit and vegetables, no alcohol, no caffeine, low salt. I have not dieted as such, when I’ve been hungry I’ve eaten. However I have generally avoided processed food and stuck fairly religiously to the “good” stuff.

The problem is, having made these changes to my diet, I’m confused myself… what is the “good” stuff?

There’s so much contradictory information out there, new research is released on an all too frequent basis. It’s difficult to know what to do for the best. Since my Heart Attack I’ve been paying fairly close attention, and I’m confused. What is it like if you just catch a newspaper or radio headline? How is anyone supposed to follow a simple, healthy diet based on the “noise” that’s thrown at us?!

Here are some snippets from recent articles:

More research needed into fat guidelines (The British Heart Foundation 17/03/14):

A study suggests there’s not enough evidence to back the current UK guidelines on the types of fat we eat. But we think more research is needed before suggesting any major changes.

At the moment guidelines generally encourage us to swap out saturated fats – found in foods like dairy products – for unsaturated fats found in products such as margarine or sunflower oil.

But this analysis, by researchers including BHF Professor John Danesh from the University of Cambridge, of 72 separate studies suggests this change does not impact on our risk of developing heart disease.

So that’s clear then! Bad fat might not be as bad for us as we thought! Excellent!

Living and working near takeaways linked to obesity: (The British Heart Foundation 13/03/14)

People who live and work near a high number of takeaways are more likely to be obese than people less exposed to these outlets, according to new research we helped to fund.

The researchers found that those who live or work near to takeaway outlets were almost twice as likely to be obese than those who encountered the fewest outlets.

Being obese isn’t good for you, I get that. I’m assuming, although the article doesn’t mention it, that you need to eat the Take Away food in order to put on weight.

Apparently, giving people information to make healthy choices will reduce the risks of living in this sort of environment… assuming they know what a healthy choice is after they’ve absorbed the information!

Are we too sweet on sugar? (The British Heart Foundation 04/02/14)

Added sugar is associated with increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease (CVD), researchers have claimed.

A US study used national health survey data to examine added sugar consumption as a percentage of daily calorie intake. Higher levels of added sugar were then linked to an increased risk of death from CVD.

And so it goes on… sugar, salt, carbohydrates, this fat, that fat, vegetarian diets, Mediterranean diets. There is even news that chocolate might be the answer (or part of it, at least). What to do?

For me, there are some basic guidelines that seem to make sense:

You have to eat. Not eating is not a great idea… not very sustainable.
Things that look like they did in their natural state are generally better for you.
It’s good to eat a variety of different things.
Processed foods can contain a multitude of evils, beware!
Don’t over-eat, manage portions sizes.
Practice moderation and balance.
Try to avoid obsessing over food, it’ll take a lot of fun out of life!

From my perspective, if you’re aware of what you’re consuming it’s a big step towards doing the right things. I don’t feel like I’m in a position to suggest what to eat, or not.

As I’ve already said, there’s plenty of advice out there. Good luck in deciding which advice to follow!

Homeward bound

6 Replies

We live at the top of a hill. It’s a hill of reasonable stature that gets gradually steeper as you approach the top. As a place to live it’s good it you’re concerned about rising sea levels or floods in general. It isn’t so good however as a starting point for exercise if you’re recovering from a Heart Attack.

There are some other benefits of living at the top of a hill!

In the early days of my rehabilitation, when I first arrived home from hospital, I tried to avoid the slopes as much as possible (see An athlete’s pulse and “little” walks). It was possible to do with a 5 minute walk, but I soon had to take them on. My twice daily walks would incorporate slow, steady ascents, allowing me to gradually build my strength and confidence.

Since I’ve been riding my bike I’ve avoided the hill completely. Instead, I’ve put the bike rack on the car and driven to a flatter area to start and finish my rides. It’s been a pain, but it reduced the risk of pushing myself too hard.

Given the girls have never managed to scale the hill on their bikes either it has held fear for the whole family. I have therefore had strong support for my conservative, risk averse approach.

Over the past few months the hill seems to have grown. Like a volcanic island, it has risen a few inches every time I have driven up it. Concern over the impact the hill might have on my health has allowed in to grow into a challenge of almost biblical proportions.

Yesterday, however, I decided to take it on…

The gentle ascent to our house

I finally managed to get away from work early enough to get out for a ride before darkness descended, taking advantage of another beautiful afternoon. I did a reasonable mid-week ride (my first), but the majority of it was just a warm up for the final ascent.

As I approached the lower slopes I felt strong but a little anxious. I applied the lessons learned at the weekend; low gear, steady cadence, maintain momentum. always try to keep something in reserve.

It turned out to be a bit of an anti-climax. I made it without any distress and not even a thought of getting off to walk. An anti-climax, but another major milestone! Overcoming this hurdle will take about 30 minutes off most of my rides. It’ll make heading out in the evening more doable, and also finish them off with a cheeky little ascent.

It also served as a reminder of how far I’ve come since last June and my “little” walks!

Inverness, here I come!

Unexpected excitement (& boredom)

7 Replies

On Monday some research was announced linking Anger to Heart Attacks. Given I wrote about a similar topic not so long ago (Anger Management), it was interesting to see some real research supporting my ramblings.

Don’t make me angry!

The story became a bit of a regular feature on BBC Radio throughout the day. I wasn’t following closely, but suspect it was a bit of light relief from ongoing developments in Ukraine and the Pistorius trial.

Out of the blue, I was contacted by a lady called Liz, a Researcher from the PM Programme on BBC Radio 4: “Would I be interested in being interviewed as a case study?”.

After I’d convinced myself (1) it wasn’t a complete wind-up and (2) I wouldn’t have to provide any Bank Account Details, I responded… Yes, I was interested in participating but unfortunately I was travelling, so finding a convenient time to talk might be difficult.

To be honest, I was also slightly concerned about a live interview. The last thing I wanted to do was feature as a case study on a “People who have Heart Attacks live on the Radio” feature in months to come!

So, I found myself talking to Eddie Mair about my Heart Attack and my feelings of Anger that preceded the event. About an hour later I appeared on BBC Radio 4’s PM programme. All quite surreal!

Eddie Mair

You can hear the interview here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03wpjg6
(I’m on at approx. 41 minutes into the programme)

Prepared as ever, I had notified close family members that I might be on Radio 4 at 6 pm. Unfortunately I was travelling at the time and got my time zones confused. Amusingly this resulted in Daughter #2 listening to Radio 4 News for 30 rather tedious minutes. She had a bit of a sense of humour failure at my mistake but, learning from her father, she took a deep breath and didn’t let it get her angry. She is however much better informed on current affairs than ever before!

A brief mention of the Blog following the interview resulted in unprecedented “hits” for the following few hours. It also resulted in many more Comments and Contacts than I’ve ever experienced before. It was all very exciting!

Incidentally, a big thanks to everyone that has taken the time to get in touch!

It was a real, practical demonstration of the power of the media for me. The exposure resulted in a daily traffic level over 5 times higher than I’ve had before. It’s a level which is going to be tough to get close to again. Tough, but I’ve got a few ideas up my sleeve!

Gaining inspiration

4 Replies

I’ve been fairly motivated to get myself in shape since my Heart Attack. It gave me the “kick up the behind” I needed to get of the sofa and start exercising.

After building some initial momentum at Cardiac Rehabilitation, the Euro City Cycle has given me the focus to keep pushing through the winter. Having something to work towards has really helped maintain my motivation through the cold, dark days.

Despite this, I sometimes find my work-outs tough. I stay within my limits as far as pushing my Heart Rate and Stamina is concerned, but at the same time I try to work hard enough to push those limits further, to slowly build my strength and endurance.

Today marks 10 weeks until I head south to start the Euro City Cycle. I really need to start upping my training to ensure I’m properly prepared. To do this, I have to push myself a little harder.

I would like to avoid feeling like this on the Euro City Cycle!

When I’m tired it’s tempting to take short cuts, to give myself a break, to find an excuse to ease off or slow down. Often the tiredness is mental rather than physical. It’s difficult to keep pushing.

On Sunday I fortuitously stumbled across “Race across America (with James Cracknell)”. I joined the story as he arrived in Death Valley, during his attempt to travel from West Coast to East Coast in 18 days. Having arrived by bike, he had to cover about 80 miles on foot, the equivalent of 3 marathons in temperatures of 120+ degrees. It was brutal! If his challenge wasn’t great enough, he had an injured foot that made every step painful.

He lost 35 litres of sweat during this little stroll!

To be honest, the whole thing was bordering on nuts, but the effort and mental strength was amazing, a real source of inspiration. Since I saw it, whenever I start to feel tired I compare my position with what he had to deal with. It’s never failed to give me an extra boost of energy so far!

I also liked the fact that he really didn’t enjoy his ice bath afterwards. I’ve always wondered how pleasurable they must be. The answer appears to be “not very!”. I understand the rejuvenational benefits an ice bath may have, but I’ll be giving them a miss if that’s OK. If I were to have one it could literally turn out to be the last thing I did!

The part of the James Cracknell story I wasn’t expecting was that he got knocked off his bike and suffered a serious head injury from which he’s still recovering. Ignoring how the injury happened, I also found his recovery inspiring. It certainly helped me put my rehabilitation into some context. Again, what he went through in the months after his accident was on a different scale to what I’ve had to deal with. I am very lucky!

So, over the coming weeks I’m going to knuckle down and do the work. No excuses.

Anger Management

9 Replies

I used to get angry, very angry. I could get disproportionately angry at little things. I could feel the frustration growing in my belly, bubbling up inside.

I didn’t ever really have mechanism for venting my feelings. Some people shout, others slam doors or hit things. One of my former bosses had an elaborate array of ways to express his anger, all unpleasant and highly visible. He had proper grown up temper tantrums. I just used to get wound up and moan at people close to me, people that really didn’t deserve it.

My frustration would fester throughout the day, re-emerging every time I thought about the triggers. I’d regularly get home in a bad mood, and have a drink to help “chill out”.

Angry? Me?

I had a run-in with someone about 48 hours before my Heart Attack. A short, bad tempered interaction that left me fizzing. I was busy, trying to juggle too many things. We had a difference of opinion that quickly got heated. I’m not sure if, in itself, it was that exceptional an event. However, it’s significance increased when I ended up in hospital having undergone a Cardiac Procedure.

The individual actually sent me an email the following Monday, about 24 hours after my Heart Attack, wanting to continue our “discussion”. I just apologised and told him he was right. I was wrong.

Since my Heart Attack things have been different. I don’t see the Red Mist in the way I used to. I just don’t get the feelings in my stomach that I used to. I seem to find it much easier to let things go, to move on.

I have recently read a few articles on the detrimental health impacts of anger. It certainly couldn’t have helped me. Whether it was a symptom or a cause of my Heart Disease, things seem to have changed for me since last summer. I don’t know exactly why, but there are at least three factors that may have contributed to this change:

Medication: My medication keeps my blood pressure artificially low. Would this influence how I would react to frustrations or not? Perhaps it’s just a positive psychological factor.
Exercise: I am doing a lot more exercise which itself helps to relieve tension and stress. My regular sessions perhaps help dissipate any latent frustration so I just don’t get the build-up that I used to.
Perspective: The Heart Attack provided a me with a different scale of what’s important and what’s not. Some of the things that used to wind me up make me cringe thinking about them.

I’m assuming that I still generally get myself into similar situations as I used to. The world didn’t suddenly become cleansed of unfairness, free of idiots or clear of ignorance. Things still wind me up (all too frequently I’m afraid), they just don’t have the same short or long term effect on me.

So in summary, I concur with the view that anger is bad for your health. Personally, I feel much better without so much of it in my life!

Cardiologist says “You’re good to go!”

4 Replies

Today, 235 days after I was discharged from hospital, I had my follow-up Cardiology Check-up. Having waited for such a long time I had mentally built it up to being a big deal, and I was apprehensive as the time of my appointment approached…

Aren’t hospitals are strange places! As I ran the gauntlet of smokers alley and approached the Main Entrance, it occurred to me how different this visit was from my last one. Are there any other buildings where the various users can have such vastly different experiences? As an individual, each visit can have such dramatically different purposes and impacts; births / deaths, delight / despair, mundane / eventful, excitement / dread, etc..

Fortunately for me, this visit was short and positive. I had an ECG on arrival, again bringing back memories of my previous visit as my chest was shaved to improve the contact points. One big difference this time, however, was that everything was a little more relaxed!

After only a few minutes, the Cardiologist was ready to see me. He reviewed my notes, took my Blood Pressure and asked a few questions:

“Everything’s Perfect!” Dr, Noman (My Cardiologist)

I took this to mean “Thing’s are as good as they could be.” Which is also pretty good!

Again, everything was more relaxed, so I had a chance to ask some questions:

Dizziness? Due to medication. There are some options, but I am on the optimal dosage and should stick to it if I can. The best approach is to take my time when getting up (See Golden Rule #1).

Sensations in my chest area? Consider them normal, as long as it doesn’t feel like I did before I was admitted last time (i.e. as long as I don’t feel like I’m having a Heart Attack!).

Exercise? To be encouraged, as long as I don’t feel pain in my chest. Make sure I eat properly to minimise the dizziness.

How hard can I safely exercise? The drugs should prevent me from going “over the top”, but keep an eye on my Heart Rate (120 is a sensible upper limit).

My sponsored cycle, 300 miles over four days? (This prompted a little more thought…) I hadn’t previously had a Physical Stress Test, so we went back to the images of my Angioplasty. [I should have realised, but the whole procedure had been recorded. Not me on the hospital bed being brave, or the attentive staff, but the business end of proceedings (i.e. my Heart).]

My Heart post insertion of Stents

Last time I saw the images, I had a lot on my mind! I’ve spent so much time thinking about what’s going on inside me since last June, it was amazing to see them again!

The conclusion was that the damage to my Heart itself was minor and the narrowing of my other arteries was not sufficient to restrict blood flow, so I’m good to go! So good in fact that there’s no need for any further follow up visits unless something happens at my end.

So, the final “thumbs up”, I can really start training rather than exercising now, as long as I obey the rules…

Golden Rule #3: Make sure I am properly fuelled before (and while) doing exercise.

Golden Rule #4: If I feel dizzy while exercising, stop and refer to Golden Rule #3.

Golden Rule #5: If I feel chest pains while exercising, STOP!