My First Talk to Cardiac Rehab for 2017

This week I gave my first talk for the year to our local cardiac rehab unit. July will be ten years since my heart attack and triple bypass and have been privileged since 2008 to have been invited as part of the education program to talk to people who are now doing the rehab program as they start their journey after a heart event. 

I divided my talk today into three areas: I started off talking a bit about my heart event, the fact I did not have any of the classic warning signs or symptoms which I later found out was not uncommon for diabetics (amongst other groups in the community) - and mentioned that I am very passionate about spreading information about this whenever I get the opportunity.

The second part of my talk focused on my dealing with anxiety, depression, denial and the emotional headgames I went through in the months after my heart attack and during my recovery period. I talked about the positive role that cardiac rehab played in my recovery and also mentioned how at a certain point I reached out to one of the social workers from the program when I found things were a bit too much for me.

In the second part of my talk I also mentioned the importance of finding a hobby, an interest and talked a bit about how I rediscovered photography whilst helping my wife looking after injured wildlife (she was involved in Wildcare at the time) - where we live we have lots of wild birds visit us daily so I had many natural subjects of which to take photos. And I talked about how I have progressed my interest in photography to taking photos of live shows and tribute bands here on the Gold Coast.

In the third part of my talk I concentrated on how and what I did to change my lifestyle - stopped smoking, started exercising regularly, learnt how to deal with stress and improve my diet. I mentioned that it was my opinion that before anyone can begin their new journey after a heart event and make changes they needed to first assess where they were when they had their heart event and ascertain what parts of their lifestyle they needed to change or adjust.

All in all was a very good session with 28 people in attendance including the group co-ordinator, the unit's psychologist and a couple of university students doing a placement.

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In 2008, a year after my heart attack I was invited to give a “one-off” talk at the cardiac rehab unit on the Gold Coast. This happened not long after I had given a number of interviews for TV and our local newspaper in which I was asked about my heart event and my experience dealing with 29 cardioversions/resuscitations and having three stents for a 100% blockage to the right coronary artery and then five days later, a triple bypass for blockages on the left side of the heart.

"29 Lives" - TV Interview with Channel Nine - October 15, 2008
Click on photo to see interview on You Tube

Dealing with chronic health issues can be a real PITA!

Dealing with chronic health issues can be a real PITA! BUT, when you know what the problem is and what you need to deal with them you can usually cope pretty well. In my case I am pretty much in control when it comes to dealing with my heart issues (including angina), diabetes and thyroid condition.

BUT, one issue that crops up from time to time is breathing/shortness of breath issues which seemed to get worse after my heart attack and triple bypass back in 2007. Knowing and understanding the consequences of heart muscle damage (lower quadrant in my case) and the implications it could have on my stamina and lifestyle took a while to come to terms with but today, generally speaking, I am pretty good with these.

The breathing problems can include a burning feeling in the upper chest/lungs when I take in breaths. And understanding that this is not an angina related episode is important as I also deal with that but have medication and use a patch each day to cope with that problem.

doing a lung function test in 2010

Now after my heart attack and surgery in 2007 when my breathing issues became worse, my cardiologist sent me off to our local hospital to do a lung function test which came back normal. I was then sent up to Brisbane to Princess Alexandra hospital to do a VO2 Max test to check out my oxygen intake levels. Again, the results came back okay.

VO2 Max test similar to one I did in 2010

Having been a heavy smoker - 33 years and 40-50 a day at the time of my heart attack - I was naturally concerned that I may have a medical issue related to smoking. Xrays and the above tests alleviated me of any concerns.

Whilst not having asthma as such, I did use from time to time Ventolin when I had similar breathing issues before my heart attack, however, after my heart attack I was told I could no longer use Ventolin. To help with my breathing problem I was put on a med called Symbicort 400, an inhaler that I needed to use three times a day.

Symbicort Turbuhaler 400/12 Powder for Inhalation is a brand of medicine containing the active ingredient budesonide - eformoterol fumarate dihydrate.

For a number of years I did this, however, a few years ago I stopped as my breathing improved.

Then, a few days ago, it all started again just as we started with a spate of hot, humid weather. And last night it got a bit too much for me so I reached for the Symbicort - yes, I had new script unopened and in date - and used it. Within a few minutes I could feel improvement so I guess I am back on the Symbicort again.

So it looks like I am back on the Symbicort for the forseeable future and will definitely bring this up when I see my G.P. next.

More information on Symbicort 400 Turbohaler can be found here:

http://www.nps.org.au/medicines/respiratory-system/preventive-aerosols-and-inhalations/budesonide-eformoterol-fumarate-dihydrate/symbicort-turbuhaler-400-12-powder-for-inhalation

http://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/medicine/11882

Going forward after a heart attack/event

A couple of weeks ago I was asked to be an administrator on a Heart Support group on Facebook. At first I was hesitant realizing I don't have the time that I once had to spend on Facebook and also because I wasn't truly sure what was expected of me in this role. I was subsequently told that what was required was positive posts to help those doing it tough and to cover what I did during my recovery period and how I dealt with depression, anxiety, panic attacks etc.

Masters of Rock Show

Anyway, a week or so later I found myself added as an admin to this group and apart from a post introducing myself and another one reminding people that November is Diabetes Awareness month, I wrote a post yesterday which I repeat below.

"When I was asked to join this group as an administrator I wasn't too sure what to expect, nor was I sure of what was expected of me. Jean, as I understood it, saw my role as posting positive items about things I have done over the years since my heart attack and triple bypass back in 2007 but finding the time to actually sit down and write something has not been easy due to always seeming to be busy. But today I have decided to change that and post something, probably spurred on by events of this and recent weeks.

Depression was part and parcel of my recovery period and still continues today, 9+ years on. Dealing with this back then was a challenge and remained so for around a year after my heart attack. Helping my wife look after injured wildlife helped me but rediscovering photography probably was the main thing to get me to start thinking positively.

Living where we live in the Gold Coast hinterland in Queensland, Australia with an abundance of wildlife (birds) visiting us daily provided me with no shortage of ready made subjects to photograph. This is an activity I continue to do today on an almost daily basis.

Rainbow Lorikeet

Along the way I also found I had time to listen to music again, something that had fallen by the wayside over the years due to work, family and all that sort of thing. And then three or so years ago my wife and I discovered tribute bands where we live.

The natural progression for me was to challenge myself to take photos of live shows, teaching myself the skills and the required techniques. In recent months I was asked by one of the largest clubs up here to take photos of their shows (did two last weekend) and me being me agreed to do it not for payment but in exchange for tickets to the shows for me and my wife.

PINK tribute show

Then last week I was asked to do some promo shots for a local group for a small payment and this morning received a phone call asking me to do photos at a show tomorrow night - sadly, can't do this one as since my heart attack I don't travel far at night and this one is over an hour away (they are looking to see if someone is coming from our area who could give me a lift).

And today I received confirmation to shoot another show in three weeks time.

So, what started as a hobby has now developed into something a bit more serious but more importantly, it is something I thoroughly enjoy doing, and may develop into a form of income, albeit small.

Now why have I written all of this? Because I believe it is of paramount importance for those of us who are finding it hard to cope after a heart attack (or any life threatening disease) to find a hobby. I say as much when I give talks to our local cardiac rehab unit which I have been doing since 2008 and I say the same when I give a talk on behalf of our Heart Foundation for which I am a volunteer speaker.

So for those of you who, like me, found they were unable to go back to work or a full-time job, that does not mean that life has come to an end. Now, during the recovery period, is a great time to rediscover an old interest and maybe develop it into something more.

And I do understand that saying the above can be easier said than done but we have to realize that giving up should never be an option.

Happy to respond to questions or comments but as I am not on the computer all the time, my replies may not be instantaneous."

My Facebook page featuring wildlife photos I have taken: https://www.facebook.com/Wildlifeinnerang/posts/1109641512489326

More photos from shows I have shot can be viewed on FLICKR at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/paradisephotos/albums

 Pheasant Coucal

 Kookaburra

King Parrot

Sulphur Crested Cockatoo

Galah (Rose Breasted Cockatoo)

Pale Headed Rosella

Indian Ringneck

ABBA tribute show

QUEEN tribute show

Eagles Tribute show

Elvis tribute artist Dean Z


Masters of Rock Show

Final talk for the year to our local cardiac rehab unit

This morning I gave my last talk for the year at our local cardiac rehab unit. Twenty two people in attendance including the program co-ordinator, psychologist and a medical student. A sign of the times sadly when there are so many people needing to do a program like this.

The first thing I talked about was the fact that I had virtually none of the classic warning signs or symptoms when I had my heart attack and that I was later told this is not uncommon with diabetics, something I did know beforehand.

In addition to talking about my heart event and recovery and my changes in lifestyle I spent a bit of time dealing with the need to find positives in life to help in the recovery process, especially when things are not going all that great and stress and emotional head games may become difficult to cope with

I was able to share about what I did when those times came (come) along and what I did (so) to deal with depression including walking everyday, looking after injured wildlife and probably the biggest thing that happened for me, rediscovering an old hobby, photography.

Could not stress enough to those present the need to have a hobby or two, to have something to look forward to doing. Was a good final session for the year and if required, will be more than happy to do it all again in 2017 when I will be celebrating ten years surviving something I was very lucky to survive.

An interview I did with Channel Nine a year after my heart attack: http://my29lives.blogspot.com.au/p/29-lives-tv-interview-with-channel-nine.html

(Yep, that's me being loaded into the ambulance for the trip up to Brisbane for my triple bypass)

Use this link to view a presentation I put together a number of years ago after a cardiac rehab talk. Whilst the format may have changed over the years, the material I cover and the messages I try and share have not.

http://my29lives.blogspot.com.au/p/my-cardiac-rehab-talk-september-2011.html

Difference between Cardiac Arrest and Heart Attack

Often, when I talk to people, I refer to what happened to me in 2007 as being a heart attack, it's a lot easier to say this. In fact I had a cardiac arrest which resulted in recurrent ventricular fibrillation requiring 29 electrical cardioversions (electrical shocks with paddles) and resuscitation - see, a lot easier to say I had a heart attack, most people understand that!

Courtesy of British Heart Foundation

And from my experience, people are not interested in details like - I had 100% blockage of the RCA (that was stented on the night of the event), 80% blockage of the left main stem and 40% blockages of the LAD for which I had a triple bypass five days later. Way too much info for most people, a lot easier to tell them you had a heart attack, they operated and they fixed you! :-)

Check out British Heart Foundation at: https://www.bhf.org.uk/

Forgetfulness, memory loss - is the culprit Crestor?

In recent weeks, maybe over a month now, I have noticed a worrying sign, a growing incidence of forgetfulness, issues with my memory.

Now after my triple bypass nine years ago in 2007 I, like many others after such operations, had issues with my memory, something which I soon after found out was not uncommon for people who have had open heart surgery and a condition that was referred to as Postperfusion syndrome or "Pumphead". With me, my short term memory after surgery was absolutely "shot" but remarkably my long term memory seemed to improve.

After a year or two (or was it longer?) the memory issues appeared to go away and I was more or less back to normal.

Fast forward to 2016. Over the past 3-4 weeks (or maybe a bit longer) I have noticed that again I am having issues with my memory, particularly short term. At first I simply didn't pay much attention to this but over the past couple of weeks I feel this has been getting worse and it is starting to concern me.

For example, in conversations with people, if I am talking about something and get interrupted, I can find it very hard to find my line of thought, of what I was talking about and it can take me minutes of serious concentration to remember what I was talking about. This has happened more and more over the past couple of weeks.

More worrying, however, has been a couple of issues regarding my medication and this is something I will need to address if it does not improve or in fact if it gets worse.

A week ago today I started using Ntro-Dur 5 patches to help me with my angina. All good, I followed the instructions and Monday through Thursday I placed the patch on a different part of my upper body as directed.

Then came Friday. On Friday evening I realized I had forgotten to put the patch on that morning. Okay, these things happen and I made a mental note not to do this again.

Then came Sunday, two days later. Normally I put the patch on in the morning after my shower and take it off in the evening - on for 12 hours, no patch for 12 hours as per instructions.

So this morning (Monday morning) I am lying in bed at 5.00am wide awake, feeling good and then it dawns on me that I did not take the patch off last night - it had been on since 10.00am the previous morning for some 17 hours. Now I am not sure what the consequences will be for me today but I do know I will not be putting a patch on today.

BUT the worrying thing is that now, within seven days, I have had two incidences regarding medication that I need to take to help me with my issues, in this case my heart and angina.

And then I remember - oh the irony - that one of the side effects of Crestor is memory issues, forgetfulness. After finding a new 99% blockage in my RCA in May I was changed from Lipitor for my cholesterol to Crestor.

Will monitor this situation and will speak to my GP if this situation does not improve or in fact if it gets worse.

More information on side effects of Crestor can be found here: https://medlineplus.gov/druginfo/meds/a603033.html

Finally Put the Nitro Patch On

So a few weeks back I posted about my increased angina episodes and the decision for me to start using a low dosage Nitro (glyceryl trinitrate) patch.

Ten days ago I bought the patches but because I was feeling good, had not had an angina episode for a few days, me being me, put off starting to use these patches.

Nitro-Dur 5 patches

And I won't mention my inherent fear of starting a new medication when it comes to my heart!

Well that all changed over the weekend when early Sunday morning around 3.00am I woke up with pressure on the chest, SOB and a bit of a racing/pounding heart - I have a history of heart arrhythmia and get it from time to time. Got up out of bed and used my GTN spray and things improved pretty quickly. Checked my blood sugar level and it was 3.8 (68 mg/dl) which for me is on the low side and being so early in the morning I knew they would be going further down over the coming hours. I had some juice and nuts and cheese to get the sugar level up and then went back to bed.

Blood sugar level converter

For most people a reading of 3.8 would be considered good but I know for me, most times when I go below 4 and definitely below 3.5 I tend to get typical HYPO symptoms and over the years have noticed that at the same time I can also get SOB, racing/pounding heart, pressure on the chest issues and using my GTN usually brings these under control - the racing heart and SOB are not common to HYPOs.

Maybe I did it to myself, overdoing things on Saturday - going to a Jazz festival event during the day and meeting up with friends we hadn't seen for years and then that night going to a music tribute show with me busy taking photos at both events. In a way, I probably brought the latest episode upon myself given I have very low stamina levels and heart muscle damage following my heart attack in 2007.

And having other health issues including a thyroid condition, means I am on a multitude of medications. In 1996 I was diagnosed with Graves disease and two years later had my thyroid burnt out and have been on on thyroid replacement medication ever since.

In May 2014, I had an episode of angina which landed me in hospital. Having just had a sandwich for lunch I started to feel unwell, thought it was angina, took my GTN spray and it didn't help. When the paramedics arrived they found my blood sugar level was 3.8. In hospital a discussion between endocrinology and cardiology decided my angina episode which included chest pain, sweating and pressure down both sides of my neck was related to my diabetes. In the following weeks I did a Holter monitor test (for the heart) and wore a blood sugar monitor for seven days.

Here I am after being brought into hospital in May, 2014

Whilst I have not had such a bad experience since, I am always conscious of my sugar levels and the effect a "low" can have on me when it comes to my heart.

Holter Monitor test in 2014

After the angina/HYPO episode early Sunday morning and then needing to use my GTN spray twice more during the day, once later in the morning and again in the afternoon when I had pressure in the chest and SOB issues I made the decision that today, Monday, I would start using the Nitro patch. The brand my chemist has given me is called Nitro-Dur 5.

In accordance with the instructions I have put one on my upper right arm and leave it on for twelve hours and then take it off tonight and put another one on tomorrow morning after a twelve hour break.

Nitro-Dur 5 patch applied per instructions to upper arm

Need to be aware that as I am getting used to these patches I can get similar side effects like headache, dizziness, light headedness etc. that can come with using the GTN spray.

We shall now see in the coming days, weeks if this will help with my angina issues.

This may be of interest regarding Diabetes Heart Disease: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/dhd/

Another article which may be of interest regarding diabetes and heart disease: http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/healthreport/high-blood-sugar-levels-as-risk-factors-for-heart/3381068#transcript