Heart attack to 10K (or maybe that should be half marathon) - 'my story'

  Part 4.21 - STUCK IN REVERSE (RECAP OF 2022) (Phase VI - sustaining a healthy life-style) "Nothings going to happ en unless you ma ke it happen." I would normally do an end of year blog on the anniversary of my first cardiac rehab heart assessment on the 31st January 2017, but 2022 has careered so far off the path I set myself that's it feels like I've been going backwards - negating a lot of what I have achieved, so I felt compiled do a re-cap of the past year just so I have a personal log if nothing else. It's been a disrupted year where due to a deteriorating heart rhythm, my exercising and running levels suffered significantly and consequently I've got a bit porky undoing 5 years of weight loss and I've been getting a little too near for comfort to my heart attack weight again. I shall try and keep this blog brief but it has been one helluva year. After 2020 where I had to several hospital appointments (not all cardiac related), for my 2021 new year ...

  Part 4.20 - PERSISTING WITH PARKRUN - PART 1 (Phase VI - sustaining a healthy life-style) "Nothings going to happ en unless you ma ke it happen." I only intended to write another blog if there was something special or significant to write about; well, since the last blog in May 2022 my AFib (Atrial Fibrillation - heart arrhythmia ) has moved up a level to from paroxysmal to persistent which is a fairly significant change in lifestyle for me and as a result I would like to write my own tribute to just how important parkrun has been, especially through this period of relative inactivity as it has been the only bright spot during a period where I have become concerned about my of lack of exercise, but as crucially how it gave me the opportunity to progress my health and fitness drive soon after I completed both cardiac rehab and the Wycombe Wanderers FITT lifestyle programme in 2017, months after suffering a heart attack. Parkrun has become a constant feature throughout the...

  Part 4.15 - Getting back in the groove (Phase VI - sustaining a healthy life-style) "Nothings going to happ en unless you ma ke it happen." Since my heart attack the support and encouragement I have received from so many different groups and individuals have been key in my progress to follow a life plan I set myself to make improvements to my health and eating habits, to help reduce the risks of further cardiac problems, and I have relied heavily upon this support going right back to my cardiac rehab. From the nursing staff and fellow cardiac patients during the rehab, Sam and Andy and all my fellow participants on the Wycombe Wanderers Sports & Education Trust FFIT lifestyle programme as well as Gee with the Monday evening FIT Xtra sessions, the volunteers and runners at Wycombe Rye parkrun and then the enthusiastic mob at YPOM (your pace or mine) who helped to take me much much further than I ever dreamed possible when setting out on this journey (I would have been ec...

PART 4.7 - PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES (Phase VI - sustaining a healthy life-style) "Nothings going to happen unless you make it happen." As we approached the 2nd anniversary of my heart attack in December 2018, I'm back at Harefield hospital for my next cardiology outpatient appointment were this time I was seen by the top man himself, consultant cardiologist Dr Dalby rather than one of his registrars or clinical nurses. I had a few points I wanted to get clear in my mind and he was certainly the right man to ask.  The first was the issue of the beta-blocker [see part 4.6]. He sympathised with my GP and agreed it was probably better for me to remain on a low dose bisoprolol as my bradycardia (low heart rate) wasn't causing problems. But because I had shown signs of Afib during my previous surgery [see part 4.4] and some erratic heart rates on my Fitbit, he wanted to put me on a 7 day ECG holter monitor before restarting the bisoprolol to try and catch the AF, sayi...