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David O’Brien reflects on his experience with Cardiac Rehabilitation and getting “back to normal” “Born in 1947 in Pontypridd, school and university in Cardiff and having spent all my working career in England, my personal cardiac story begins with our move to Cornwall in 2005 and my registration with a doctor then. With no obvious symptoms he prescribed statins and aspirin as my cholesterol was higher than was recommended, even though I was reasonably fit and active and considered my diet was sensible. This was followed in 2006 when my company annual BUPA medical concluded it would be prudent for me to be seen by a consultant cardiologist as heart failure was hereditary in the family. The cardiologist had recently returned from the States and he strongly recommended an angiogram, in his words this was the gold standard approach to my circumstances. I was duly booked in for the procedure and while still in the theatre he announced I had "serious chronic heart disease". Quite a surprise for my wife and myself as I felt fine. He basically advised that the choice was a by-pass or an angioplasty, I opted for the latter and stents were implanted the following week. Medication was then increased. I then decided I would join a gym to improve fitness and pay more attention to diet, although I did not consider this was poor. Over the next few years my condition was regularly monitored and I considered I was fit [...]

New research suggests that physical inactivity is one of the leading causes of death in the UK. Our lives are so busy. There’s work, home life, housework, errands, children and god-willing a social life. So when you have some much needed free-time to exercise, it might be the last thing you want to do. However recent research has worryingly uncovered that 20 million people in the UK are physically inactive. This is thought to increase the risks of heart disease whilst costing the NHS around £1.2bn each year. Wales had the third highest percentage with 42% of the population classed as inactive. [Source BHF] You may be thinking that if you have a busy life surely this would count as ‘being active’ – however according to South Wales NHS Physiotherapy technician Drew Scard, this kind of thinking is part of the problem. “There is a huge difference between being active and being active with a purpose. If you’re not achieving an increased heart rate for a prolonged period of time, then your body is not seeing the physical benefits and you may actually still be considered as inactive. Think of someone who walks briskly to the shops for 30 minutes, versus someone who plays an 18-hole golf course for 3 hours. When you break down the activity – walking for a short period of time but at a pace that increases and sustains your heart rate at a higher level than ‘resting’ is ultimately better [...]