'I share my heart attack experience'

By Jane Elliott
Health reporter, BBC News

Paul's heart attack was completely unexpected

Once a week Paul Hooley can be seen at his local hospital giving advice and tips to patients with heart problems.

Although not a medical man - he had a printing firm before retirement - he feels that he can offer the patients a different perspective - his own experience.

Nearly four years ago Paul, 66, was in the same position as them, after having an unexpected heart attack.

Paul, from Buckinghamshire, was a fit, non-smoking vegetarian with no family history of heart problems, blood pressure or cholesterol.

Confidence building

So, when he suffered a heart attack no-one was more surprised than himself.

They told me I was having a heart attack and had been for 12 hours Paul Hooley

"I have been really active for 50 years and the only thing I can put it down to is pushing myself too hard for too long."

Doctors suspect that an extremely energetic bout of sport might have caused one of Paul's arteries to split and that the scab that formed had caused a blockage leading to his heart attack.

"I was keen on sport and played table tennis at quite a high level and on the day I had the heart attack I had been playing and playing quite well.

"I went home and thought I had indigestion, but the silly thing is that I did not do anything about it then.

"The next morning I went to see the doctor who said I had to go straight to hospital, which I did, and they told me I was having a heart attack and had been for 12 hours.

"I had no great pain, just discomfort," he said.

A big thank you

Within five minutes of arriving at Milton Keynes NHS Trust, Paul was on a heart monitor and within 10 minutes he was receiving treatment.

He spent four days in intensive care.

When he was well enough to consider life after a heart attack, he was discharged into the care of the cardiac rehabilitation team who over the next few weeks built up his stamina and confidence and gave him lifestyle advice.

A cardiac rehabilitation class

"Because I had a very healthy lifestyle there was nothing that I could change except not taking on more than I should both physically and mentally - at one time I was on more than 50 committees so I cut back," he said.

As way of a thank you Paul wanted to help the cardiac rehabilitation services.

"I saw what a huge benefit the rehab was and the confidence it gave people.

"Now I talk to people and explain what I went through and point out that they too can rebuild their lives and can be back to what they were, but that they must make changes and that they can't smoke and must exercise and have a healthy diet," he said.

Educating through shared experience

Dr Attila Kardos, a consultant cardiologist at the Milton Keynes Hospital said that the services offered by volunteers like Paul are invaluable and that cardiac rehabilitation plays a large part in heart recovery.

"Someone who has had a heart attack or bypass can get confidence from cardiac rehabilitation, which allows them to get effective lifestyle measures.

"It is very important in their return to the community.

Cardiac rehabilitation can transform the lives of heart patients following a heart attack or surgery Josh Bayly

"And having someone who has gone through this themselves to talk to them is a great benefit in explaining what they are going through," he said.

The British Heart Foundation (BHF) warn though that all patients are not as lucky as Paul and they say some are getting a raw deal.

Research has shown that patients attending cardiac rehabilitation improve their chances of surviving in the first five years by more than a quarter, at a cost to the NHS of just £600 per patient.

But in some areas, according to their own statistics, just one in seven people get the support they need.

And three out of five cardiac patients do not have access to rehab services at all.

Josh Bayly, of the BHF, said: "Cardiac rehabilitation can transform the lives of heart patients following a heart attack or surgery.

"It is a vital treatment for many of the 2.7million people currently living with heart disease in the UK and represents outstanding value for the NHS.

"This makes it all the more shocking that so many heart patients still do not have access to quality rehab programmes".

A Department of Health spokesperson said they were making progress: "Our 2010 target, to reduce deaths from cardiovascular disease by 40% in people under 75, has already been met five years earlier than expected.

"However, we recognise more needs to be done to combat heart disease."