I will keep this short and sweet but believe it is worth posting as the demographic of most of most of the riders here is the most at risk. On Melbourne cup day my wife Clare and i thought we would take a drive over to Maroondah dam to take a look at the spillway overflow.We then decided to walk up to the top of the dam wall which is a reasonably steep long walk that would always have me breathing a little heavy by the time i got to the top.But by the time we got up there i was absolutely knackered, gasping for breath and needing to sit down and rest.I did this as subtly as i could trying not to alarm Clare but i have done first aid courses and was a little worried.My main concern apart from the breathing was that i thought i could feel something across my chest and down both arms.I say thought because it was so mild that i suspected i was imagining it.Anyway i rested for 10 minutes and then felt fine so we continued our walk and then went home. I didnt do anything really physical for the rest of the week, my job is spent 80% at a desk so it wasnt until the weekend that i got the second warning.Working around the garden at home on Saturday i found i was getting breathless very easily and would sometimes get the very mild pressure sensation in my arms and chest.Sunday [url=https://www.facebook.com/groups/742978426087948/user/100004516003513/?__cft__[0]]Trevor Bastin[/url] and i rode over to Sanders orchid in 3 bridges and then had lunch at the pub in Poweltown.After lunch Trev went back to the racing but i rode home through the bush on my own taking some nice tracks but nothing to hard so i didnt have any issues. The next week when i got the chance i decided i needed work on my fitness to see if i could get on top of this reoccuring breathing problem so on Wednesday night i went for a ride on my mountain bike.I took the same route that i have ridden many times before, i generally ride at least once or twice a week.There is a long reasonably steep climb as i head back toward home and half way up i was stuffed, i could breath and had extreme pain across my chest and down my arms, i rested for a while and then dialled up the assistance on my ebike and managed to get home.Clare wanted to call an ambulance but i talked her out of it saying i would be ok after some rest. I went to work the next day and experienced the same symptoms again but this time from very little exertion,so i called the doctor and made an appointment FINALLY. Things happened really quickly from this point, the Doctor did an ECG then told me i need to go to the emergency dept asap.Clare drove me to Maroondah hospital where despit there being a full waiting room i was triaged and due to having the letter and a copy of the ECG from my GP i was seen i less than 2 minutes and 5 minutes later i was in their resuscatation room where i stayed until an ambulane picked me up at 6am Friday morning and took me to Box Hill hospital to get an angiogram.The idea was that while doing the angiogram the woul maybe put in a couple of stents a the problems would be solved. Unfortunately when i woke up i was told that i three arteries that were badly restricted and i would require a bypass operation.So a couple of hours later im in another ambulance on my way to St Vincents hospital where i was lucky enough to be successfully operated on 2 days later. The reason i have made the effort to write this is that i hope somebody might read it and act more quickly than i did, i got very lucky.The surgeon told me that if i had of just rested up i may have lasted another month before having what would have been a major heart attack. The symptoms arnt always that obvious, that first day at the dam i was thinking it could possibly be my heart, my cholestrol is good , i am not diabetic,my blood pressure has always been perfect,the cardiologist thinks it was 99% genetic, both of my parents had heart issues but lived to a good age. So moral of this story is DONT IGNORE THE SYMPTOMS NO MATTER HOW SUBTLE, it costs nothing to get them checked out ,DONT HESITATE.

Great advice thanks Phill
Im really pleased to see that you’re still here and on the mend. 
Im not too far away from you so don’t hesitate to ask if there is anything you need done while you’re recovering. 

 Thanks for the write up Phil.

The years slip by and we need to keep an eye on our health. If not healthy life is not much fun.

Thanks for the insight Phil , we all think we are tuff old bastards.But we need to pull your heads in , and tell people that we think that somethings not quite right
I hope your recovery is quick and complete.

We are lucky to have to have health care that is available to all just need to use it occasionally.my go told me recently that I should start looking after myself I said that as I’m on bonus time if any part of my body is useful for recycling when I fall off the perch then I’ve wasted my time.good luck Phl

Nice to hear that you are on the mend Phil


I went through a similar thing 5 years ago and was up at Abbeyard at the time when it got worse, Cup weekend 2017

Basically I was sneezing & coughing alot leading up to Cup Day and thought it
was hayfever as i do suffer from that and to say more than a few words without coughing was seldom. I went to Abbeyard anyhow as the weather was beaut and its so relaxing however noticed little things like setting up the tent, gazebo & walking round the block seemed a bit more of an effort and would sweat more than normal.

Whillst we were riding to Wonnangatta i was coughing and putting it down to the dust from bikes ahead. I made the decision to go home once we got back on the Sunday arvo
I woke up on Cup Day at about 3am abruptly with breathing difficulty however as soon as I sat up it cleared and I
went off back to sleep (I was too find out later on that this was blood pooling in my lungs)
Anyway, my wife convinced me (stubborn Taurus) the next morning to go to the Austin ER just to make sure as the hayfever tablets didnt seem to be working and the cough was getting worse. My stubbornness again......
 It was a nice sunny day so was looking forward to going for a ride after lunch when I got home however this wasnt to be

I never felt or noticed that my heart was racing but when I got to the
ER,  my pulse was hovering around 180 just sitting down, I just felt a bit tired / lethargic however
within a couple of minutes I was on a bed with tubes stuck in me and meds to reduce the heart rate however it
didnt get down below 100 for four days. The shock paddles were brought
over and thats when I got really nervous however didnt need them but
they stayed right next to my bed for days.
I remember watching the monitor and it would come down to say 125 and then start racing again. 198 was the
most I remember seeing but for most of the time was around 140.
It was 5 days later that they could accurately do a scan (apparently when racing over 100 bpm its difficult or inaccurate to do the scan)
They said my heart had enlarged 50% and the beat was irregular / sporatic. - Atrial Fibrilation
They asked if I was coughing up blood as my lungs were pooling with blood
but I wasnt, it was one of those dry coughs and after spending that week
in the cardiology ward I can tell you its a certain type sounding cough
as I heard others with it.

I had an angiogram and my arteries were clear  I really thought there'd be a blockage as I love my food.
All blood tests come back fine.

Jan 28 2018 I woke up feeling 1000% better. My heartbeat had returned to normal, sinus rhythm
Its hard to describe but imagine a misfiring engine that all of a sudden clears up and just goes. That lasted a week and then  it was in & out of normal rhythm however by June 2018 returned to normal size and maintained a
regular rhythm to the point where i could reduce medicine dosages which
is great cause it causes a bit of the shakes and occasional blurred
vision which is a bit of a pain in the arse but better than being 6foot
under and since reducing the meds appears to be settling down.

I have since had a procedure called an Ablation done on my heart in june 2020 and havent missed a beat since plus it enabled me to stop taking some medication and reduce others however still 3 in the am and 2 at night. They went in through my leg and it was done in about 5 hours. Felt like i was sunburnt in my chest for a few days after but all good now

It amazing how much one becomes familiar with themselves when something like this happens. Im now seeing the cardiologist once a year as he says my heart is doing great now however still have blood tests, holter scans, ECG's & the other scan where they visually record the heart function & take measurements etc.  When watching the screen its like an engine, valve opens, compress and out the other - we arent much different from combustion engines when you see that !

In hindsight I remember saying to my wife ' i dont understand why im
gaining weight when im doing all this riding and eating normally'  The
weight gain was due to fluid retention as when the heart doesnt beat
properly the other organs become affected and go into survival mode.
I came out of the hospital 10 days later and 8kg lighter

Im fairly active but need to do more & mountain biking is my main thing along with walking etc
Want to get out on the trailbike more however there is always that little bit of trepidation that i need to overcome knowing what I know now and went through

My cardiologist said Im lucky I came in when I did as it was only a matter of time, maybe a day or two from a major stroke

 stay positive

Thanks for sharing with us Phil.
Good luck with the recovering mate.