Health - Be Aware and Act

I received a call today and was very pleased with the news relayed by a friend including what he is up to tomorrow.

I was thrilled even.

The news I was so pleased about is that he is off to hospital tomorrow for a minor surgical procedure, to do with his heart.

In reality, any surgery to do with the heart is perhaps not minor, but an angiogram is at least routine.

He is 57 years old and what I am thrilled about is he took definitive action when he felt all was not as it should be.

He is someone who could perhaps lose a few kilograms but is by no means obese. He is active, walks most days, plays golf and leads a fundamentally healthy lifestyle.

Four weeks ago, he completed 18 holes golf and felt great, even noticing how much fitter he was than his playing partner who was often short of breath.

Just two weeks later, while walking through the nearby National Park, he felt “not normal” and a little breathless.

Most of us Men, and particularly us Baby Boomer’s with our innate belief on our indestructibility would go in to denial that anything was wrong and he did leave it a few days before acting, but act he did.

A Doctors referral was followed by a Stress Eco which proved 95% perfect and 5% probably ok but not quite sure.

Given the shortness of breath matter, being sure of any heart issues was the priority hence the angiogram tomorrow.

I am pleased he took action to address any potential issue. Too many people ignore their health indicators and all too often do so with adverse and sometimes fatal outcomes.

In this case, in the space of just 2 weeks, he went from feeling like a very healthy person and a positive example to others to feeling not quite right. It happened quickly and when it did, he took action.

Chances are the procedure tomorrow will find nothing amiss. Alternatively, a stent may be required and in an extreme case, open heart surgery.

Heart disease is typically associated with Males over age 50. Sadly, the age at which heart issues are surfacing is dropping. Also, heart disease is a growing issue for Woman.

Whatever the outcome tomorrow, it will be a good news story.

His quick and decisive action can act as a reminder to us all to be aware of any changes in how we are feeling and then to act accordingly.

Action beats ignorance, every day.