By Reg Block

Another new year is here and it is time for some of us to turn over a new leaf. How many times have you said to yourself, this year is going to be different than the last one? No more of this, that and the other.

Oddly enough, with procrastination and the passage of time, the resolution list gets shorter rather than longer. The justification goes like this: well I’ve tried such-and-such in the past and it didn’t work or I know myself too well to try to quit whatever it is I think I should quit or I’m just too old to change. How depressing. I guess the new year’s resolution list idea is more appealing to younger, less experienced people. I say hogwash! It’s time the middle-agers joined in and reclaimed the new year’s resolution list.

Now I’m not suggesting you should come up with a long list of idealistic, unrealistic resolutions. What I’m saying is take on some reasonable challenges that may include improving life for yourself and those around you. And who knows, you may end up averting a future crisis that would affect not only yourself but friends and family also. I’m speaking from experience.

Seven and a half years ago, at the age of 42, I suffered a heart attack and nearly died. My daughter was only six months old and I was not ready to meet my maker. I wanted to be there for my little girl. Perhaps, before she was born, my attitude would have been different. But that day, I was doing some major reflecting upon what I could have done differently to avoid the situation I was in.

When I arrived at the hospital Saturday morning at 6 am, my chest felt like it was about to explode. I had no idea I was having a heart attack. I thought it was an unusual strain of flu. After numerous tests at the hospital, the doctor said he couldn’t find anything so I could go home. I responded with, "what do you mean you can’t find anything... do you have any idea of how much pain I’m in? ... You’re making a big mistake."

I was told there were no enzyme markers in my blood, my blood pressure and cholesterol levels were normal and all the appropriate tests were done. By then, I felt my heart was trying to jump out of my chest. Fortunately for me and probably for the hospital, the attending doctor had some doubts about his findings. He brought in a big shot cardiologist who took one look at me and said; "this man is having a heart attack right now."

That’s when it got really serious. I’ve never seen a bunch of doctors scramble around so quickly to keep someone from dying needlessly due to ignorance, negligence or incompetence. Out came the pharmaceutical version of Liquid Plumber at $5,000 a treatment. Incidentally, if it doesn’t help the problem, chances are it will cause life-threatening ruptures in other organs. Fortunately, in my case it seemed to work without side effects. I was moved to another hospital where an angiogram and angioplasti were performed and after a few days they sent me home. To make a long story short, I began to make some changes, partly because I knew my family was counting on me. I didn’t want to let them down, nor did I want to miss out on my daughter’s journey through childhood and beyond.

It’s not as though I made a cavalier new year’s resolution like many of us do the first week of January. I had a somewhat permanent set of resolutions forced on me. But since I had no blood pressure, cholesterol or lifestyle issues to modify, what exactly was I going to resolve? One of the more progressive attending cardiologists at St. Paul’s said he thought opportunistic bacteria caused my heart attack.

Contrary to what most of us have been led to believe, could it be that there are numerous causes of heart disease besides cholesterol and smoking? I resolved to figure out what had happened to me and why. Despite that, it did not negate the fact that my body had just suffered huge trauma and my heart was damaged - that part scared me big time. After all, who wants to go through life with a damaged heart? The experts told me I would be on drugs for the rest of my life, I might have another heart attack and chances were bypass surgery was in my future. That’s some crystal ball they’ve got!

My recovery began with a gradual exercise regimen, massive doses of heart specific enzymes, a herbal heart formula and beta-blocker pharmaceutical drugs. The latter I weaned myself off within a few months. By then I had figured out that opportunistic bacteria, like the ones I encountered, are in and around us most of the time. They, in fact, are not a problem unless your immune system is severely compromised. There are lots of factors that affect immune function. In my case it was stress that wore me down, allowing a type of clamydia bacterium (related to flu and pneumonia) to attack my left ventricle, causing it to collapse.

After reasoning with my GP, he agreed that it was not logical for me to continue taking beta-blocker drugs, as the cause of my heart attack was not normal. But, I guess when you come off the hospital’s heart attack conveyor belt, you get prescribed a one size fits all recovery program that includes drugs and, heaven forbid, margarine.

Recovery was slow and gradual. In retrospect the physical part was quicker than the psychological part. I started with short strolls followed by longer walks and then I began a daily skipping program, working up to 45 minutes every morning. By the sixth month, I felt like a boxer training for the ring: skipping on one foot, two feet, forward, backward, fast, slow and crossing over without missing a beat. Who knows, I may have missed my calling.

Despite feeling physically good within a year of the heart attack, it has only been recently that I have felt psychological closure. I decided to take scuba diving, which requires a certain level of fitness and a doctor’s approval. When I took the form to my GP he said, that given my heart attack, it was not a good idea. Of course I had already heard that from friends and family. My doctor, realizing I was determined to take the plunge, put me through months of tests, including electro-cardiograms, swimming tests, stress tests and scans. At the end of it all, he scratched his head while surveying the results and said he would sign the scuba diving medical form. He went on to say that the residual damage to my heart was so minor, it could be considered insignificant. I rushed down to the local dive shop, medical form in hand, and signed up for the course.

Today, I take no pharmaceutical heart medications, I eat most things in moderation and spend a lot of time chasing around an athletically gifted eight-year-old. I often refer to her as my personal trainer. In a way, keeping up with her and being around to see her grow is my year ‘round resolution assurance policy. My recommendations are: make realistic resolutions, don’t wait until you have no choice, get informed and believe you can do it.

Reg Block can be reached at reg@commonground.ca

Top