HEART SHOCKS

At 49 years in the space of four weeks during the winter 2005 I incurred three major shocks: … Holidaying in Tunisia I thought I had stomach bug, I subsequently found out it was associated with a heart attack. … I was given an angiogram and discovered my arteries were significantly blocked, that my heart had been at some fifty per cent functioning and that it had suffered some minor permanent damage. … I had a triple by-pass operation.

How could I be a victim without major risk factors (… cholesterol, diabetes, smoking, overweight, high blood pressure or family history)?

It was explained to me that the disease had probably built up over 20-30 or more years… it hadn’t happened overnight. I was just one of the unlucky few for whom an obvious answer is not possible. It was also made clear that my fitness and general health had in fact postponed the event over many years and certainly contributed to my survival of the heart attack. I was lucky to have returned from North Africa alive!