The last thing Alan Ferron remembered was going to bed one night last March and waking up a month later in an intensive care unit.
he 36-year-old father-of-one from Kiltipper, Dublin, recalled waking up in the dark and wondering “where the hell am I?”
She learned to her horror that not only was she in the hospital after suffering two heart attacks, but that she had actually died.
“The nurse told me ‘you were dead,'” he said of his heart stopping for nearly an hour.
He later learned that the pressure he felt in his chest, like someone sitting on top of him, was the beginning of cardiac arrest.
“My girlfriend rushed me to the hospital and when I got there I collapsed on the floor and went into cardiac arrest. After being revived, I went into another cardiac arrest and then had a stent put in.”
His diagnosis of heart failure was shocking but not surprising. His grandfather, an uncle and his younger brother Christopher, who tragically died of SIDS in February at just 25, all suffered from heart disease.
However, Alan said he didn’t fit the stereotype of a candidate for heart disease. He never smoked, ran an hour a day, swam, biked, lifted weights, went to spin class and was in the middle of qualifying him as a fitness instructor when he collapsed.
Fortunately, his medical team was able to manage his condition and he now takes around 18 tablets a day to control the massive damage to his heart, which is now running at a capacity of just 25 pc.
But he considers himself lucky to be alive and has made lifestyle changes to prevent another heart attack.
“I have to be careful: if I go out of the house, I usually need to rest before, as fatigue can hit him hard.
“I exercise regularly, whether it’s at the gym, walking or cycling, and I take medication every day and watch the amount of fluid I drink.”
He also had an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) implanted in his chest. The small electrical device monitors your heartbeat and restores it to normal if it detects an abnormal rhythm, which it says gives you “great peace of mind”.
Despite his ordeal, he managed to qualify as a fitness instructor and hopes to return to work in the coming months.
But in the meantime, he urges others to pay attention to any symptoms, however trivial, that could indicate a heart attack or impending heart disease.
He ruled out what he called “little things that I now know were symptoms (of heart disease),” including excessive sweating from minor exertion and feeling faint and dizzy.
He is also encouraging other people who have been diagnosed with heart failure to be aware of the symptoms of heart failure and to participate in the Irish Heart Foundation’s Heart Support Network, a private Facebook group for those living with the condition.
“I found it very helpful when I initially left the hospital; it was all new to me, so it was nice to hear and read about people who had been through the same thing as me.
“It helped me understand that not everything is doom and gloom and it helped me get back on my feet, a great help at a time when I needed it.
“I would definitely encourage people to engage with supports, to talk about it and not hold things back.”
The Irish Heart Foundation said that while heart failure may sound scary, it’s important for patients to understand that their heart isn’t about to stop.
“Heart failure describes a heart that is not working as well as it should and can affect people of any age,” said Dr. Angie Brown, medical director of the Irish Heart Foundation.
“It occurs when the heart cannot pump enough blood around the body, because the walls of the heart have become too weak or too stiff to work properly. An estimated 90,000 people are living with the condition in Ireland.
“The most common symptoms include fatigue, shortness of breath, especially with activity or when lying down, swollen feet, ankles, or abdomen, weight gain over a short period of time.
“Others may include loss of appetite, dizziness or near-fainting episodes, rapid heartbeat, changes in mood, or a reduced ability to exercise.
“Symptoms like these occur when your heart isn’t pumping blood throughout your body efficiently, allowing excess fluid to build up in your lungs and other parts of your body, usually your feet and ankles.
“However, it is important to note that heart failure is preventable. Reducing your risk factors for heart disease will help prevent heart failure, such as not smoking, managing high blood pressure, eating healthy foods, maintaining a healthy weight, staying physically active, and drinking moderately.
“Heart failure usually responds very well to a combination of medications and lifestyle changes and some people may need surgery, pacemakers or similar devices. With modern treatment, people with heart failure can lead long, quality lives,” she said.
