Eleven months ago I had a Heart Attack.  It was a bog standard, stereotypical Heart Attack:

• Most Heart Attacks are caused by Coronary Heart Disease (CHD).
• CHD is when your coronary arteries (the arteries that supply your heart muscle with oxygen-rich blood) become narrowed by a gradual build-up of fatty material within their walls.
• If a piece of this fatty material (atheroma) breaks off it may cause a blood clot (blockage) to form.
• If it blocks your coronary artery and cuts off the supply of oxygen-rich blood to your heart muscle, this is a Heart Attack.
  Learn more at:  http://www.bhf.org.uk/heart-health/conditions/heart-attack.aspx
  

This is what happened to me.  Nothing special.

What this means is that a year ago I was a walking Time Bomb.  I was unwittingly living with a partially blocked artery waiting to “let go”.  The event that triggered my Heart Attack could have happened at any time and any place.

I’ve said it before, but I was very lucky to have the Heart Attack when I did. where I did.  It was possibly the best thing that could have happened to me.

It obviously alerted me to the fact that I had Coronary Heart Disease and the emergency treatment addressed the immediate risk.

Possibly more importantly, the medication I’ve been prescribed will reduce the risk of reoccurrence.  In addition, the whole event prompted me to get off my fat behind and to get myself in shape, an act that will further reduce the risk.  A combination of regular exercise and a healthy diet has resulted in some dramatic changes.

I’ve been given a second chance, and I’m lucky to be in good enough shape to take full advantage of it.

We each make lots of decisions every day.  I’m much more aware of the potential impact of my decisions than I used to be.  I’m hoping with the benefit of my experiences over the past year I’ll be able to continue to make some better ones than I’ve done in the past!