I thought I had a flu but then I suffered a cardiac arrest! by Jake Fordham
On Tuesday the 21st of February I was sent home from work a little early as I was feeling unwell. My colleague had only recently returned to work after having the flu so I assumed I was coming down with something similar. My manager asked me to call in the next day if I was […]
Living with a Fontan Circulation – Tricuspid Atresia by Jara Weinkauf
Even though there was no history of heart disease in my family and my parents led a very healthy lifestyle, I was born with tricuspid atresia in 1986 in Berlin/Germany. Doctors noticed that my skin was very blue and something had to be wrong with me. After a palliative operation as a baby, I had […]
Joseph Tanner talks about doing the Brighton Marathon
myheart member, Joseph Tanner, talks about his experience of taking part in the Brighton Marathon, 2015 below. This story begins on Sunday 16 March 2008; I entered the Hastings Half Marathon. The week before the half marathon I had a cold, and at the time I didn’t think much of it. On race-day I felt […]
Exercise
It is very important that you follow the advice of your cardiologist regarding exercise! If you have been diagnosed with a cardiac condition and you have been told that you should not take part in sport anymore, it is very important that you follow your cardiologist’s advice. This is because some cardiac conditions can […]
Hayley Brown
Living with long QT syndrome I was 19 years old and had just failed my second driving test when my first and only attack happened. I ran through the garden and into the house where my mum was waiting nervously. I told her that I had failed and then went on to tell her I […]
Fraser Thomas
Living with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy I am one of the few lucky parents as my son, Fraser, survived a full cardiac arrest while playing football last year. He had no previous symptoms or illness and was saved thanks to two medical students who happened to be playing football that day and also a mobile defibrillator that […]
Julia Hubbard
Living with right ventricular outflow tract ventricular tachycardia (RVOT-VT) I have represented Great Britain in Bobsleigh since 2006 and In October 2007 I crashed in a race and sustained fractured vertebrae and tore all the ligaments in my thoracic spine. I was out of the sport for the rest of the season while I recovered […]
Russell Goodman
Living with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) and an undiagnosed condition A healthy way to start the weekend, get up Saturday morning and go for a run. This was something my fiancée Charlotte and I enjoy regularly, sick this one however was very different. After being out for just over an hour running the streets […]
Pacemakers
Pacemakers electrically stimulate your heart to make it contract and produce a heartbeat. They differ from implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD) in that they do not have the ability to give your heart an electric shock. Pacemakers can be helpful if you have problems with the electrical activity in your heart which causes it to beat […]
Catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT)
Catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT) is a rare condition that has been associated with two genes that make proteins found inside the cell – the human ryanodine receptor (a calcium ion channel) and calsequestrin (a protein that interacts with the calcium channel). These regulate the release of calcium ions into the rest of the cell. […]