Life after a Heart Attack or Heart Surgery | Mental, Emotional & Practical Heart Health Wellness

Angela is an exercise coach and a cardiac nurse. In the last seven years, she’s been specialising in cardiac rehabilitation exercise. She has quite a unique combination of skills. We chat about how in the UK cardiac rehab is provided for most patients via the NHS and how important it is to have the proper instructions for the wellbeing of our hearts during the healing process and how to achieve it...

Brian suffered a massive heart attack at the age of 48. Prior to that he was exceptionally healthy and lived a very active life.  His heart attack occurred during an Ice Hockey match and he spent 20-25 minutes on his own in the dark unable to move.  Did he see the light? Despite there being a number of factors that seemed to make the situation difficult, he was lucky in so many ways including havi...

Sara was fit, healthy and ate a good diet. She had been experiencing regular headaches and stress, at one point thought her blood pressure machine must have been broken.   Living in Bristol, she left for a meeting in London, had an early telephone meeting at the station. Then she went on to her business meeting that was the reason for travelling. She has a sense of dread, and indigestions, but did...

Steve Wrigley was flying home when he had a heart attack on the plane. He was fit and healthy, he loved adventure holidays that revolved around cycling.  He went with friends he’d met on previous adventures on a trip to Bali. Steve shares his story of amazing luck as he survived two accidents on his bike. Then the third event when he was on his way home. He had a cardiac arrest caused by a heart a...

Ray was born with Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome. This did not affect his quality of life until after he had developed coronary heart disease. He was lucky that by this time, cardiac ablation could be carried out on him. This is one of the rare procedures which cures, rather than treats, a heart problem. After years of Ray's CHD being misdiagnosed, a heart attack was correctly diagnosed and c...

Just before her 50th birthday Tena was admitted to hospital with unstable angina, and this was just the beginning of her story. Tena lives with many cardiac and respiratory chronic illnesses and she shares with us her journey and her coping mechanisms that helped her with her glass half full outlook despite the many changes to her life. She talks about her diagnosis and some of the procedures she...

In February 2019, Eliza (aged 20) had a successful heart transplant recipient at Papworth Hospital in Cambridgeshire, UK. It was a life-saving event that focussed her on fundraising and being a patient advocate. Eliza explains that she was born with congenital heart disease but didn’t know about it until she was 12. What life was like as a teenager and how she coped with having her first pacemaker...

Claire was nominated in 2020 for the BHF Heart Hero Awards. She has contributed in amazing ways to raise awareness of heart failure and has had many TV interviews, been in national papers and BHF publications. Claire tells us about her life growing up with type 1 diabetes.  Like many women she shares with us how she didn’t realise she was having a heart attack. It was nearly missed but the paramed...

Sanjay made a massive difference to my state of mind during the early days of my recovery from my heart attack. A random stranger and an act of random kindness. For Sanjay, a series of life challenges culminating in a heart attack by the age of 42 contributed to some hard and fast lessons for Sanjay in how to live a more fulfilled life without sacrificing career, relationships and health. He exper...

Trying to find direction after a cardiac event.  I discuss how to be able to take action on your unique path of life you need to have direction and focus. When our life changes it can feel uncertain and we feel vulnerable. By having direction and taking action we are able to develop and grow so that we can enjoy the feeling of accomplishment. Sometimes we know what and where we want to go but then...

Gaining confidence with life after a cardiac event.  Having confidence is another mindset that is important during recovery after a heart-related health issue.  I tell you about how gaining confidence with life after a cardiac event helps you get out of your own way of your rehabilitation.  That you can rid yourself of doubt. You can grow your self-belief. Have the confidence to step (at first, th...

Having purpose when living with a heart condition.  Today I chat about purpose. I’ll talk about what it means when living after a cardiac event.  I will explain that it isn’t what you achieve but the feelings that you experience on the journey. As your body releases its natural feel-good chemical, dopamine.  That it’s not always the big things that make the difference. When recovering from a heart...

Hope helps when living with a heart condition. This week I am sharing with you my thoughts around the mindset of hope. How having hope after a cardiac event is key to giving your life meaning and being able to look forward to the life you live. You’ll learn how hope is motivational and helps you be able to adjust to new things and the differences in your life.  I will explain that even though your...

Creating energy for living with a heart condition. In this episode, I will introduce you to another of my mindsets that I think underpins our emotional recovery after a cardiac event.  To gain energy to fuel your ‘new normal’ this is your physical, mental and emotional well-being.  Having energy gave me motivation and drive to want more from each and every day. No more I’ll do it tomorrow as tomor...

Finding acceptance when living with a heart condition. In this episode, I talk about acceptance and how having it contributes to emotional wellbeing after a cardiac event.  You’ll learn why it is important to accept the situation, yourself, what was and what is, along with your limitations.  Find out how you can regulate your moods and decrease symptoms of anxiety and depression, and the fear of f...

In my trailer episode, I introduce myself, who I am, what I do and my experience. I chat about how my podcast can help you if you have had a heart attack, cardiac arrest or live with a heart condition. I explain how emotional rehabilitation is crucial for our recovery, that it should sit alongside and intertwined through the NHS provision of physical rehabilitation. You’ll find out why I decided t...