Great thread everyone, and Lard, I hope you get sorted soon and back on track.
I had a huge heart attack nearly 4 years ago that nearly took me out. Mine was like drowning with a fat bloke standing on my chest. Terrifying. I had a smaller one the day before (tight chest, sweating, no energy etc. as some have described earlier) that my GP misdiagnosed and ended up with 40% muscle damage and 4 stents in two arteries on the big one. Top marks to the Basildon cardio ward for saving me though. Amazing work.
Turns out I have a (unknown to me until then) history of heart disease in the family, I smoked too much, did too little and age junk. So at 42 my body bit back. That’ll teach me.
It saw me off work for 3 months and the rehabilitation was a very slow process. The fact that (whilst not overweight) I was so unfit beforehand really didn’t help. The fact that the cocktail of drugs they put me on (Ramipril, Atorvastatin, Bisoprolol Fumarate, Aspirin and originally Clopidogrel) made me constantly feel like I’d been thrown down the stairs didn’t help either. Removal of the Clopidogrel from my daily diet and the reduction of the statins helped massively, but the drugs do still take their toll.
It’s taken a long time to get fit in the gym and it wasn’t until I rediscovered cycling last summer that I truly started to enjoy my exercise. I hadn’t really ridden since childhood, but loved it then and have loved motorcycling since. It was immediately enjoyable though and it wasn’t long before I got a nice second-hand hybrid to make the most of it.
I have now cycled up to 30 miles in one trip with plenty more to come and have signed up for this year’s London to Brighton to give something back to this great charity.
http://www.justgiving.com/paulmyall
The trick for me (as I imagine is the same for many of you with cardio issues) is to not have sudden bursts of energy and to keep my heart rate monitored and under control. I wear a heart rate monitor (Polar FT7) and try to keep my heart rate generally below 140bpm as recommended by my cardiologist. Peaks are allowed on hills, but only with a gentle progression and allowing time for it settle back down afterwards. I have been tested up to 175bpm in hospital, but that was with doctors on standby, so wouldn’t want to go there on the road. I have safely peaked at 165 on a few occasions though.
As a couple of you have already mentioned though, make sure you carry your GTN and let whoever you ride with know about it too. If you do have an angina attack whilst out, stop and call someone to get a lift home. Don’t try to ride through it.
The point of me writing this is to say that even if you are as unfit, unhealthy and lazy as I was, there is light at the end of the tunnel. It does shake up your world, but you’re still here so take it as a second chance and turn it around. There are, as a few here have said, plenty of people worse off, so count your lucky stars and move onwards. I only know a couple of other people that have a heart attack and they are much older and less active than me, so it’s really good to find people of similar ages that I can relate to in similar situation who are getting out there doing the same
Don’t forget; GTN spray and heart rate monitor.
Happy cycling everyone
