Any survivors on here, cardiac arrest, heart attack, cancer....

[Cadire]

Best wishes and do as you are told @Cadire

Well I have been behaving myself for the last 9 weeks and, not only am I an expert on 'Bargain Hunt', but I am pretty expert at guessing house prices in 2012 thanks to 'Escape to the Country'.

But all good things come to an end and I now have the all clear to get back on my bike Starting Friday I shall be tootling around the back lanes of Sawbridgeworth again

 

[Colin_P]

Well I have been behaving myself for the last 9 weeks and, not only am I an expert on 'Bargain Hunt', but I am pretty expert at guessing house prices in 2012 thanks to 'Escape to the Country'.

But all good things come to an end and I now have the all clear to get back on my bike Starting Friday I shall be tootling around the back lanes of Sawbridgeworth again

Good stuff and glad to hear it. Slowly slowly catchy monkey does it until you build your confidence up.

As you may have gathered (or not) I've set up a Cardiac Arrest and Heart Attack survivors group on Strava. There are not many of us and it'd be great for you to bolster the numbers. If you join, you will see that some of the fellow heart attack survivors put in some seriously mad weekly miles. Then there is me, always rattling along last!

If you are not on strava, it is free to join and the group is (clicky below)
https://www.strava.com/clubs/uk-cardiac-arrest-and-heart-attack-survivors

I'm glad you are ok and suitably rested

By the way..... you don't happen to know a chap called Andy Hall who is a work colleague who heralds from Sawbridgeworth and who is very much into his cycling?

 

[Cadire]

Good stuff and glad to hear it. Slowly slowly catchy monkey does it until you build your confidence up.

As you may have gathered (or not) I've set up a Cardiac Arrest and Heart Attack survivors group on Strava. There are not many of us and it'd be great for you to bolster the numbers. If you join, you will see that some of the fellow heart attack survivors put in some seriously mad weekly miles. Then there is me, always rattling along last!

If you are not on strava, it is free to join and the group is (clicky below)
https://www.strava.com/clubs/uk-cardiac-arrest-and-heart-attack-survivors

I'm glad you are ok and suitably rested

By the way..... you don't happen to know a chap called Andy Hall who is a work colleague who heralds from Sawbridgeworth and who is very much into his cycling?

Sorry I don't know Andy.

I have joined the Cardiac Arrest and Heart Attack survivors group, very happy to do so in fact, so you won't be in last place for much longer

 

[Yorksman]

I have suffered several Sudden Cardiac Arrests (SCA's) and am among the lucky 5% to survive one. I now have an ICD (Implanted Cardioverter Defibrillator) in my chest looking after me. It has saved my life three times in the year I have had it, the last time was just under a month ago.

......

I'd be interested in hearing from anyone who has faced or is continuing to face serious health issues and how they are getting on.

I'll let you know. I am just out of hospital having had a ICD fitted.

After feeling unwell, I was diagnosed with atrial flutter and was awaiting cardioversion. Unfortunately, no one at my GP practice told me that the underlying cause of the AF was a reoccurance of dilated cardiomyopathy. I last had it over ten years ago.

Recently, I was cycling 30 mins per day on a turbo trainer taking the precaution of monitoring my heart rate. One day though it shot up and refused to go back down. Even when lying on my bed it stayed at 160 so I went to A&E where they diagnosed Ventricular Tachycardia and cardioverted me out of it. Took four shocks though. After 4 days, the relatively benign AF, relative to VT that is, returned.

I have the ICD fitted as a precaution but they are unsure if exercise whilst in AF caused the VT or if the VT was a reaction to the heart rate drug amiodorone. This drug put my QT interval very near the danger zone. It's better now that I am off it.

So, I am unsure what to do. Am I safe to return to at least my turbo trainer or, do I abstain from cycling altogether? I still have the underlying cardiomyopathy. In theory, this would benefit from some heart exercise but none of the healthcare professionals seem able to advise me. They all just talk about walking.

 

[Colin_P]

Blimey Yorks,

It isn't nice is it having these electrical problems.

In some sort of twisted way, sometimes you wish you'd just had a normal, classic, good old fashioned heart attack where they whip you in, insert a stent and send you home with no real after effects.

Having dodgy electrics fixed is right at the edge of what they are currently able to do. If you are lucky they might invite you to have an ablation done to resolve it. This may well sort the AF and is quite successful in doing so. The VT is a bit trickier though, currently there isn't really anything surgical that can be done and it is managed mainly via drugs.

I suffer with VT which can and has deteriorated into VF and mine is managed by a large dose of beta blockers and a drug called Flecainide. Not a nice drug but not as bad as Amio. With me it took them a while through trial and error to get my drugs right but touch wood, I've been good for over a year now, I'm just slow on the bike due to the drugs!

My advice to you is to ask when you can come off the amio, I assume you are on it to quickly calm the ticker down and once it has calmed you may be put on something else? With regard to getting on the trainer, I wouldn't just yet but if you do, go slowly. You are probably better off just going for a walk for the time being. You need to recognise things are different now..... but they may, in time change back for the better.

As for having the ICD, day to day, mine doesn't bother me in the least. Just make sure you keep your arm down for a few weeks but don't be afraid of moving it. It actually mowed the lawn in my first week and that involved starting a petrol mower!

With regard to what the ICD does, most probably with you, all it will do is perform some 'ATP' (anti-tachycardic pacing) this is where it 'overdrives' whatever your heart is doing. If the worse does happen and you find yourself in VF, first of all you will probably be unconscious but if not being shocked is not that bad, don't believe all the nonsense you read about it being horrible, it really isn't and after a zap you will feel much better! Mine has zapped me three times and has done a bit of ATP.

Do you know your ICD settings? Mine is set to....

40bpm is the bradycardic limit, this is where it acts like a normal pacemaker and won't let your rate drop below that threshold. Mine has never done this.
220bpm is the shock threshold on mine. If I get to / past 220bpm, ZAP !
Between the two it'll do ATP.

Anyway....

Please be assured that life does go on, you will get better and please know that you are NOT alone with this, although it may seem like it at times.

 

[Yorksman]

Thanks for the reply Colin. I have been referred for Cathater Ablation to stop some of the rogue short circuiting signals, so that will be a fun day in hospital! The original cardioversion gave me a nice steady heart rate but it didn't last long due to the cardiomyopathy. After four or 5 days I was back in AF.

I'm not on amio. They took me off because it resulted in my QT interval being close to the danger zone. I'm just on Digoxin for rate control at the moment. The ICD implant though was a thorough misery. They did an angio at first and found no blockages so I was more or less straight into the Pacing Room. After a couple of days, I was allowed home. Unfortunately, it was infected and antibiotics didn't clear it. They don't want to chance any infection going up the wires into your heart. So, they put me on what they called 'the good stuff' introvenously for a couple of weeks and then took the ICD out. That resulted in a large haematoma and basically I was nursing an open wound for 3 weeks. Then they put a new ICD in on the other side and the consultants kept coming arund to look for signs of infection. A couple of weeks ago, I got my discharge papers. Some poor bloke opposite me did get an infection in his heart and was on an IV drip 18 hours per day and was in for 2 months.

They're not made to measure these ICDs are they? Did yours hurt to begin with? I've got two 3 inch bloody scars on my chest with a massive lump on one side and am thinking of getting a part time job as a film extra in a medieval battle scene. I don't need make up.

Thanks for the tips. I already decided to pay a handyman to to the jobs that need doing around the house as they are all jobs requiring the use of electric drills above head height. I don't want to knacker the ICD and I don't want to pull those wires out. My ICD is supposed to start pacing at 160 bpm and has nearly a dozen therapies before it zaps me at 200. At the moment though it is only partially programmed, ATP only between 150 and 170, because I was off the anticoagulant in order that the troublesome wounds could heal. Now I am back on it, they will reprogramme at the review.

At least I can cook some nice food at home now. I'm self employed and more or less retired but I did feel bad for those younger guys who did have heart attacks and who were then told that they couldn't drive. A young bloke in a bed next to me was only in his 20s and was a taxi driver. His health and means of living gone in an instant. I don't mind waiting to get back on a bike.

 

[Colin_P]

Yorks,

That was quite a stay in hospital and with the original getting infected, not good. Hospital is not good for anyone, whilst they may fix you up physically, the longer you spend in there the worse your mental health becomes, I hate every single moment I have to spend in there. Glad you are home now ad it is good to hear you are off the amio. I think amio is their go-to heart medicine that is quick and very effective. The side effects of that stuff are quite frightening though. I take it you have not turned blue?

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=a...=0CAYQ_AUoATgKahUKEwj9seGmlsXIAhVjcHIKHSyODM0

I had a different experience in so far as the time I spent in hospital was where they were trying to work out what was wrong and what to do. Once you are healed, and that means the leads have grown into the veins, you should be able to do whatever you want. I've done all sorts with my ICD including welding which is supposidly a bit of a no no. My ICD does not restrict me in any way at all but I swear sometimes it feels like the leads are pulling through the veins

Driving, yes that can be an issue. I'm in my mid 40's with a family and have had two lots of six months off. I actually liked not being able to drive and didn't miss it at all. It make me cycle, cycle where previously I'd jump in the car. It is a habit that has stuck as now I'll jump on the bike rather than use the car.

 

[Yorksman]

I take it you have not turned blue?

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=a...=0CAYQ_AUoATgKahUKEwj9seGmlsXIAhVjcHIKHSyODM0

I shouldn't laugh! No, they never even mentioned the possibility.

It's good to know that a normal life with an ICD is more or less possible and that there are only a few limitations. I intend to remain positive and keep my fingers crossed that the VT was a reaction due to the drug and not because of the cycling. I will wait until I have had more reviews however before I get back on. I must learn to take these things more seriously. I got my first diagnosis of AF whilst on holiday. I went to the chemist, got some pills and then went straight on this thing (not my video):

 

[Colin_P]

Never take it seriously if you can possibly help it, you will drive yourself insane.

And whatever you do, don't let the fear and resulting anxiety get hold of you. I've been there and it can be all consuming. What I've subsequently learnt though is you need to push through it and test your limits. Slowly at first to gain some confidence. You will find that you can do more than you think without incident.

I think you are in a good place already though and long may you continue sticking two fingers up at illness !

 

[Yorksman]

I think you are in a good place already though and long may you continue sticking two fingers up at illness !

LOL, thanks.

I know I can't cure the heart but I can reduce the work it has to do by losing weight. Fortunately, I have time and I like cooking so it's all those heathly meals with beans and pulses, wholegrains, salmon, brocolli and so on and so on.

Good to hear that you used a petrol mower. I have a lot of hedge to trim next year and won't really be able to use an electrical one with the ICD. May invest in a small petrol trimmer. The wires should be firmly bedded in by next spring.

 

[Nidge]

I really shouldn't be reading this thread after being diagnosed with angina and going for bypass surgery next week

If it wasn't for taking up cycling last year I would of carried on ignoring the pains until it was probably to late

 

[The Jogger]

I really shouldn't be reading this thread after being diagnosed with angina and going for bypass surgery next week

As diagnosed with Health Anxiety, I shouldn't be reading this thread either but I have nothing but admiration for you lot on here and it puts things into perspective.

 

[classic33]

As diagnosed with Health Anxiety, I shouldn't be reading this thread either but I have nothing but admiration for you lot on here and it puts things into perspective.

Makes you realise how lucky we all are as well.

 

[Yorksman]

I really shouldn't be reading this thread after being diagnosed with angina and going for bypass surgery next week

You'll be fit enough to follow in Ranulph Fiennes' footsteps and run seven marathons in seven days on seven continents then

I wouldn't even last the seven airports and seven flights.

 

[PaulSB]

Last Sunday I suffered a heart attack during the club run and the barstewards dropped me!!!! - more later. I thought I would search Cyclechat for advice on returning to cycling and came across this thread. All I can say is what amazing people are out there.

On Sunday we had ridden 38 miles to the cafe in Clevelys with the intention to return via Blackpool promenade, through Preston and back to Chorley. Leaving the cafe traffic and lights split the group and I found myself off the back. No worries as I knew I could catch up.

I started to push harder and immediately felt rubbish with a dull ache about half way down my left side in line with the armpit. I decided to ease off to 8-9mph, not sure I could have done more, and carried on expecting the group to slow or stop. No they just got further away!!

Cycling on to Bkackpool seemed the best plan and catch the train home. I also knew A&E was in the same general direction. Getting in to Blackpool I felt better, weighed up going to A&E but concerns about what to do with the bike swung me to catching a train home. Called my wife and asked her to meet at our staton. By the time I reached Chorley I felt fine. Showered, had a brew and contemplated what next.

I'm 61 and thought it best to take action. My wife, SRN and SRM, said she was going to see our son, see you later. As you can gather this was all a bit low key. Decided to drive to the local Walk In Centre not wanting to clog up A&E. Saw the nurse who thought I was probably OK but advised visiting A&E. Drove to A&E.

Presented myself at reception and start giving details. Receptionist picks up the phone immediately and says "male, 61, chest pain. " then directs me to waiting area with 26 people. Started to settle down for a long, long wait. Within 2 minutes a porter arrives with chair and inside 5 I'm hooked up to an ECG and having bloods taken!!!! Also started drug treatments presuming an attack.

To avoid boring you all I was diagnosed by midnight with heart attack, CCU ward Monday morning and back to Blackpool, regional specialist cardiac unit, for angiogram followed by angioplasty and two stents. The right coronary artery was completely blocked.

As one of the nurses pointed out I should have just called in to Blackpool CCU instead of going home!!

The surgeon asked if the pain during the angioplasty was similar to Sunday, it wasn't. He found significant development of sub arteries above the blockage and suggested I may have previously had a "silent" attack and Sunday was not a heart attack.

Regardless the decision is to treat me as a heart attack patient.

I feel very good and apart from what I feel are some natural concerns re the future my big worry is how long till and will I be able to get back on the bike.

The second part of the question now seems obviously yes. I'm used to club rides of 75 miles at 14-15 average. Very much hoping I will get back to that in the months ahead.

Lastly I have to mention the NHS. Married to a health professional I have always been a staunch supporter. After Sunday's experience I can only praise to the heavens the astonishing level of care, kindness and professionalism I received.