Christmas Build-Up?

Sunday. 8.15 a.m. Yet another cold and frosty morning. I have dug out my gloves and woolly Oddballs hat before going out. My hands get freezing cold and can get really painful if I don't wear gloves in such conditions.

9.20 a.m. I have been out to defrost the car. Fortunately, I had the sense to buy some spray antifreeze the other day when I was in Sainsbury's and I also have a scraper, which makes the job easier. I don't think it was a particularly heavy frost, and the ice cleared easily. Also, putting on the car's heated windscreen helps considerably.

2.30 p.m. After our usual service at Shenley Christian Fellowship, we had a Christmas party. It was a bring-and-share meal, the idea being that a list of food was put up on a white board and if you could provide something on that list, you prepared it or bought it. I had tomato and cucumbers, cut up and put into one of my metal bowls, crisps, Twiglets and grapes to take. I went to Sainsbury's during the week to do a top-up shop and got most of those items, except Twiglets. Search as I might, there were none to be had. A bit like Lane, the butler in 'The Importance of Being Earnest, who responds to the question about cucumbers, which have been made for Algernon's aunt, Lady Bracknell, 'I went down to the market earlier and there were no cucumbers, not even for ready money.'

Not only is it bitingly cold today, but there's a thick fog covering all of Milton Keynes. It seems to have got worse as the day has progressed. It's just as well I don't have to drive far because I don't like driving in fog, especially when it's so thick you can only see a short distance ahead of you and definitely not on any Motorway. Also, with snow, it would be treacherous.

Monday. 6.30 a.m. I have a feeling we had a fall of snow overnight. I have yet to be outside, but I am waiting to go out and then will discover if that is correct.

8.50 a.m. There has definitely been quite a fall of snow overnight. When I took Alfie out at 7.35 we discovered a thick layer of snow on the grass alongside Strudwick Drive. My car has a blanket of snow on it as I gaze out of the window, and I will have to go down and brush it off. I have also been to take a few photographs with my iPhone and they have been uploaded onto Facebook.

1.10 a.m. I have been out to scrape off the snow from my car. I was surprised by how much there was and how thick it was. I wasn't preparing to go out in the car immediately, but I was thinking it might be a good idea to clear it before there's another snowstorm overnight and that it would need clearing off the car before I drive to Camphill tomorrow morning. I just hope it doesn't snow overnight nor that it freezes, which would make the job easier.

I had a telephone call this morning from one of the pharmacists at my doctor's surgery, Central Milton Keynes Medical Centre. I was actually expecting a doctor to ring. I thought we were going to discuss and review my medications but wasn't about that. I wanted to talk about the cough I keep having, due to the amount of phlegm I have at the back of my throat and the heartburn, which can feel almost exactly like how your body feels when you have a heart attack. She said I would need to speak to a GP and that I can make an appointment at around 7 p.m. for the next day. I also have to have a blood test and an appointment to have an amount of blood taken (not something I like, but still, it must be done.) so there can be a check on my kidney function. That is made for Wednesday morning at 11.20 a.m. Which means,  no food to be eaten beforehand.

I have booked my car into Bleakhall Motors for a service on Monday 19th December and this is at 8.00 a.m. I'm trying my best to keep the car in good mechanical order so having it serviced regularly seems a sensible idea to me.

6.20 p.m. I have just been watching a video on Vimeo, the video-sharing site, of the pantomime which the  Camphill theatre workshop did in July. I had heard all about it and would have gone to see it if I had been able to go to Camphill, but hadn't been able to because of the pandemic and having to wear a face mask. I am absolutely knocked out by the energy and enthusiasm that was put into the production. Everyone remembered their lines and gave such strong performances. A real winner. A great deal of hard work and effort went into the whole show.

Flooded Milton Keynes and Bedford

 (Monday) I put BBC Breakfast on at around 6.20 and they were reporting 'live' from Bedford. The centre of the town is flooded and all along the Embankment and around Longholme lake the river has risen and engulfed the fields around the River Ouse, all places I know well.

Although I wasn't able to visit Chloe and family in Worcester over Christmas, I was able to chat with her via Skype, something I haven't done before. It was great to not only chat, but she gave me a guided tour of the extension to the house which is more or less completed. She didn't show me upstairs, because the children were asleep in bed (it was around 7 p.m.). There is a new utility room and the downstairs wet room off the kitchen as well as an office. I hope that probably next week we can have another chat and this time have the boys involved as I haven't seen any of them since last Christmas because of the pandemic.

It's a good deal colder this morning. I was out with Alfie at 7.45a.m and not only was it a good deal colder, but there was a fog hanging over the centre of Milton Keynes which I could see from Oldbrook Green. I am making sure that I wrap up to keep warm, with my Oddballs woolly hat on as well as gloves (which I managed to find.) My hands get really cold and can get so cold they become numb. Something to do with having had a heart attack. Your extremities, such as your toes and fingers, can be affected. I ought to explain that Oddballs is a brand of clothing, utilising brightly coloured and highly patterned clothing, particularly underwear for men and women. Originally set up to sell these items and the profits going to cancer charities, initially for research into men's cancer, particularly testicular and prostate cancer but now also women's cancers. A good cause and I have bought quite a few items, and because of Carol's cancer, I thought it highly personal to me.

I've been out again with Alfie and it was really quite foggy. Well, not too thick that you couldn't see a hand in front of your face, but a good deal thicker than it was earlier.

(Later) I've been watching a documentary on YouTube, called 'The Cult of Doomwatch,' which was an early 1970s drama series which had storylines about what happens when science goes wrong. I remember it quite clearly and it had some really frightening storylines. I have a connection to it as one of the leading actors, Simon Oates, was a guest director when I was at the Everyman Theatre in Cheltenham in 1969, working as a student A.S.M. I'm desperately trying to remember what he directed. I have an idea that it was 'A Day In The Death of Joe Egg,' written by Peter Nicols. I may be wrong and unfortunately I don't have any way of finding out. I used to have a whole box full of the programmes from plays I worked on. You always got given one on the opening night of the plays I worked on. Some were signed by the cast. It's a pity, as they would be great to look through. I even had production photographs, but they also went astray years ago. I expect they went missing along the way as I've moved quite a few times over the years.

(Tuesday) I've been doing on-line surveys for several years now. You sign up to various sites and give as much detail about yourself and then you get an email with a link to the survey. You have to do a quick survey to show if you are eligible and if you qualify you do the survey, which can take up to 20 minutes and you get rewarded points which accrue and can be turned into cash or vouchers for well-known brands. I usually get Amazon points which you can spend as you wish from their site or else turn the points into vouchers for 'bricks-and-mortar retailers such as Marks and Spencer, John Lewis or any other high street companies. Don't expect to be able to make a great deal from these surveys, but as the Tesco ads tell you 'Every Little Helps.' I am also on a site called Consumer Pulse (you have to be invited. You can't just sign up to this site.) You have to input to their site when you buy products such as clothing, shoes, books, CDs, DVDs etc and the points build up and can be turned into vouchers for such companies as Sainsbury's, Argos, B and Q etc etc. I had reached a good payout of around £100 so I decided to redeem them, turn them into Argos vouchers. You usually get your vouchers sent to you, as paper vouchers, but because of the pandemic, you get them as eVouchers which can be spent on-line. I was expecting them to come in a couple of weeks which is what normally happens, but I was surprised to find they were sent in an email, as a string of letters and numbers. So, I thought I'd spend them. I got to the Argos website and managed to select some items, a new toaster (the old one is beyond repair, frankly, and it took ages to toast a piece of bread.) I found a Breville toaster and decided on that. Then, a new electric kettle. The old one is a Russell Hobbs and it has a Brita filter in it. The one I chose is similar but made of glass. That's ordered, but won't be ready for collection until tomorrow, Wednesday. Also ordered a plate rack for the kitchen sink, bath mats and a 'Welcome' doormat, which might be helpful in preventing mud and other bits and pieces coming into the flat. I got the toaster on Sunday and I had to go to the Argos store in Milton Keynes to collect it. Click-and-collect only and you have to queue up and it took about 20 minutes to get to the check-in. They don't allow you inside the store. A member of staff takes your details, your order number and another code which identifies you as well and the item ordered and it's handed over. 

Not The Best News

Alfie was quite insistent that he was going to be taken out for an early-morning walk. I got up as usual and he was sitting on the sofa watching me like a hawk, following me around the house, staring  at me and it was quite clear what his game was. He wouldn't let me off the hook, so I had no real choice but to put on my jacket and shoes and then connect his lead to his harness and then go out the front door. I haven't been on a long walk since my heart attack, so I walked relatively slowly as I did have a vague feeling of an angina attack, but nothing more. I even took my mobile with me, just in case. Eaglestone Park is beginning to show real signs of autumn. I also had my G.T.N. spray in my jacket pocket.

I had to do some shopping early, so I went to Sainsbury's, going at around 8.40 and avoiding traffic as well as dawdling shoppers which you tend to get on a Saturday morning. A few items as I'm having to make myself a meal of some sort with Carol in hospital at the moment. A few odds-and-ends to stock up on, those things that having a bit of running out when you least expect it.

Once I'd returned home I put the food items away, some in the fridge, as I didn't fancy the idea of them sitting in the back of the car when I parked at the hospital. It was around 10 o'clock when I eventually drove into the hospital campus and drove around to the ground-level carpark near Cardiology. I think we're becoming extremely familiar with the layout of the hospital of the last year or so and I've discovered where exactly Ward 2 is in relation to, say, the Macmillan unit as well as Oncology and Cardiology (which is handily just opposite Oncology.) You can see the windows of the ward as you walk through the courtyard on your way through and Ward 22, where Carol was a couple of weeks ago, can be seen through the window of Ward 2.

Carol had a visit from Doctor Saka, the cancer consultant with whom she was supposed to have had an appointment yesterday morning (Friday.) Unfortunately I wasn't with her when he came to the ward. We've now learned that the tumour has increased in size unfortunately, as shown on the recent scans. The plan is for her to have 6 months of more chemotherapy, but a more intense treatment which will leave her with no hair as well as possibly making her feel quite sick. Not something we are looking forward to. We were expecting her to have radiotherapy at the Churchill Hospital in Oxford, but none of this can be started until the pain she is experiencing is under control. But we know we can get through this, however difficult it turns out to be. Me having my recent heart attack hasn't exactly helped matters. I am feeling fine, apart from the occasionally twinge. I have become very aware of my heart-rate when I'm lying down and I can feel quite nauseous at times, which is as a result of the medication, also, feeling a little bit light-headed, but all in all I'm not feeling too bad, perhaps getting tired easily, but if I rest it makes things easier. Just something I have to live with, and, anyway, I went through similar things after my first heart attack in 2006.

Ward 2 is a short-stay ward. During the afternoon Carol was asked if she would like to move to a side-room? Her answer was that she would love to get away from the noise of the ward. There are a couple of elderly ladies who make a lot of noise in the night, and one was moved to a side-room because of this. So we bundled up all her belongings and a porter trended her off up the corridor. It's  Ward 20, which is opposite the first ward she was on last year, Ward 20, and just above the Macmillan unit and extremely handy for me coming in to park near the Cardiology department so that should make things easier. 

Weekend Dog-Walking and M.R.I. Scan

I haven't taken Alfie out for his early-morning walk since last Saturday. Well, if you're a regular reader of my blog posts you'll know why.  Alfie has been itching to get out and has been following me about the house but couldn't understand why he's been ignored as regards his walk. Frankly, I have't been exactly up for any sort of walk, because of the pain in my legs due to the bruising and Carol wasn't over-keen for me to go out alone with him. Also, it was raining very lightly, although I don't think we would get wet because it was so light. It didn't seem fair on poor little Alfie to have to be denied his walk, so Carol suggested we all go together. She didn't want me to go on my own, considering I'd only had my heart attack less than a week ago, so I'm not really surprised she wanted to go with us. Every time I moved around the house, from getting dressed, going into the bathroom to get shaved to going downstairs, I had a pair of little eyes watching my every move and when I put my jacket on and then my shoes he knew we were about to go out. Which turned  Alfie into a version of the Tasmanian Devil when he goes totally mad, barking, getting hold of the lead with his teeth and generally making a terrible noise, which continues as we go through the door and into the road outside and continue down the path towards Eaglestone Park, where we release him from the lead. For Alfie at least, it's not so much a walk, but more like a mad gallop around the park. 

Carol had another M.R.I. scan this morning. We were supposed to be at the unit at 10.45. We drove into the hospital campus and parked in the multi-storey carpark. Because it was a Saturday there were plenty of spaces. I was noticed how run down a lot of the hospital buildings look, comparing it with the John Radcliffe in Oxford. I think Milton Keynes hospital must have been built on the cheap, as most of the buildings are presumably pre-fabricated. I may of course be wrong. I still can't see why they didn't build a couple of high-rise blocks as there is an incredible amount of wasted space, hence, the amount of walking you have to do to reach various wards and clinics within the campus.

We walked down to the M.R.I. unit, run by In Health. I can't work out how this works. Are they an independent company, working for or in partnership with the N.H.S.? Does the hospital pay them for their services? Not sure I'm over-keen on a private company making money out of the hospital. I'v e learned, from Carol's friend Pauline, who is a colleague of her's who is a science teacher at Milton Keynes Academy, (which is sponsored by a private company, that this company is paid something like £300,000 a year by the Academy, for their services, such as administration etc.) It seems a crazy way to be funded, considering that this organisation has no experience of anything education-related. Why isn't this money used to fund teacher's pay, or, at least paying for extra staff, such as teachers or teaching assistants?

Carol's scan took over an hour, a good deal longer than the last M.R.I. scan she had when she was in hospital. The unit is just over the road from Ward 22 where she was a patient for nearly 5 weeks.

Sunday. I didn't go to church this morning. I woke with a nasty cough, which is a side-effect of one of the tablets I take. I'm not entirely sure which one it is. Seems that nearly everything you take has a nasty side-effect. One even says 'heart attack,' which is somewhat worrying, when you think I've already had two of those. Is that a side-effect? Crazy.

Later we took Alfie for his customary walk. We visited the shop to buy some bread for lunch and some Imodium tablets (because the Atarvastatin seems to be giving me the runs, rather unpleasant. See previous blog post.) I had an idea that any statin tablets I was prescribed would probably have this sort of side-effect, which I can honestly do without. Enough problems without constantly running to the toilet. Also, just plain tired and want to sleep. Which is just part and parcel of having a heart attack I'm afraid.

As I write this, at 3.15 p.m. on Sunday, it's quite bright and sunny, although there is a keen wind blowing.

Some Like It Hot

We're currently having a bit of a heatwave. Although I like the weather to be bright and sunny, I'm not over-keen to have the temperature so high it make it difficult to manage your day-to-day things such as merely living, going shopping or whatever. Alfie hasn't been able to settle anywhere in the house and has wandered around in an attempt to find the coolest place to lie. He spent yesterday in and out of the house. The patio door has been open so he can get into the garden, then he was in his bed in the kitchen and then out in the hallway, at the foot of the stairs and eventually settled on the sofa, laying on his back. Poor little dog. He just doesn't know how to deal with extremes of temperature. Having had a heart attack I have to be careful myself when it comes to high temperatures. I was told that I could keep out of the sun and wear a hat when it was hot when I did a coronary rehab course after I had my heart attack in 2006 it was around this time of the year and it was probably just as hot. We did a lot of exercises in the heat and on one particular session I almost collapsed on the floor. The staff where very supportive and helped me recover. I think it was the shock of not only having such a traumatic 'event' (the original heart attack) but the fact that the heat had caused me to feel so unwell. It was then that I was advised to purchase a sun hat and, wherever possible, to keep out of the direct sun. Yesterday I had to drive to Waitrose to buy some things for our evening meal and the car, which had been standing in the sun all morning, was very hot.

We had planned to go to Nuffield Health for a swim yesterday evening. Someone who works with Carol at the Academy had a disaster. She came home to find her house had been burnt in a fire. I'm not entirely sure what happened but I think one of her children had set fire to the kitchen. A great deal of damage so they have to live in a hotel until the insurance company can come up with the cash to repair and replace things. Carol said to this lady, called Gladys, that she would give her some food to give her children (she has four children, apparently) and they are currently living in a hotel which is extremely expensive and she can barely afford food. So we went to Aldi at Westcroft after Carol finished work so we could buy them some basic items. When I think what we went through a few years ago, it only seems right that we do something to help. It was very hot when we got to Westcroft and parked the car. In Aldi I said I was thirsty, due mostly because of the heat, and then Carol said I should go and get some ice-cold drinks from Costa who have a branch near Morrison's. It sounded a good idea so I walked there and ordered iced coffee and caramel drinks. Really nice and cooling and something that I think I'll have again whenever the need arises. Probably not too long if the weather keeps up as it is at the moment.

Returning to the heatwave; when I worked as a Support Worker at the house in Everton, there was an elderly lady living there who, even when it was boiling hot outside, insisted on wearing her thickest, heaviest overcoat.  She was in her late 80's and she was extremely short sighted.We used to often take the residents out and about during the summer months. I think it's what made the job interesting and worth while. We went up to London (I think I might have mentioned this in an earlier blog post) when we visited Westminster Abbey and then London Zoo. We had to make sure the client group were well protected from the sun, and this lady whom I have just mentioned, must have sweltered in her thick winter coat. We not only had to make sure everyone wore hats but we had to provide sun cream. Not so easy when not everyone wanted it applied. You could never persuade  this lady that she would be more comfortable in something thinner or to dispense with the coat all together when it was so hot. Never mind. I suppose it was a sort of 'comfort blanket' which was why she didn't want to go out without it on. Actually persuading her to leave the house in the first place was a real problem, but just mention the magic words 'tea and cake' and she'd be out the door in a flash. I'm not saying she could move fast, because she couldn't poor old love, but any mention of a bun with icing and a cherry on top and she'd relent and go out for the afternoon.

Early Morning Visit To A and E

Carol came home from work a few days ago complaining that she had a problem with one of her eyes. She said she had something in it which irritated. She wasn't sure what it could be. I didn't think any more about it because often if you get something in your eye, such as grit, a small fly or a hair, it can generally work it's way out and that's the end of it. But this appeared to get worse instead of better. She wondered whether she had got some chemical she uses in the labs at Milton Keynes Academy as a science teacher into her eye accidentally, by rubbing her eye, having picked it up off something or other. Which would seem easy to do if a surface, for example, hadn't been wiped clean properly by another teacher using the same lab.  

She didn't make much comment about this until Tuesday evening. We went to bed, then early next morning, around 3.45 or around that time, she said it was getting much worse. So, after much consideration, we thought it might be a good idea to go to A and E (Accident and Emergency) at Milton Keynes Hospital, which is only a relatively short walk away behind our house in Eaglestone. There's really no point in using the car because you have to pay anyway and we weren't sure how long we were going to have to wait until she would be seen by either a doctor or a nurse. So we walked, leaving the house at around 4.15 a.m. The hospital campus was more or less deserted and, on arriving at the A and E department, there were only a couple of other people waiting. She reported her issue at the reception and then sat down. She was seen by the triage nurse within half an hour, but then another nurse came out and pinned a hand-written notice on the front of the reception desk saying that waiting times were between 4 and 5 hours!

So we sat in the waiting area. There was a television on with  the BBC News Channel. Time ticked by. People came and went. Several with young children. They seemed to be fast-tracked through the system. Taken through to a special children's A and E department. Some people seemed to get taken through to the nurse's area before us. They most likely had priority, as I realize that the more serious an injury is, the quicker you will be seen and dealt with, such as when I have gone to A and E with my heart condition, or even when I had my original heart attack 10 years ago (although I was living in Bedford at the time and went to Bedford Hospital.) A fairly minor eye injury, such as Carol's, would be considered minor which is why she wasn't seen immediately. At around 9 a.m. she was called through to the main area beyond the double doors (which you couldn't enter unless you used a swipe card, which most members of N.H.S. staff had. She was gone about 20 minutes and carrying a small tube of ointment which had been applied to her eye and made it go bright yellow. We walked home and immediately fell into bed and fell asleep. I must say, as we sat in the A and E department waiting area, I was gradually falling asleep. We did manage to get a bottle of orange juice and two chocolate bars out of the vending machines in the department. Fortunately, we had my wallet with us which I had managed to take when we left the house and these vending machines have contactless card payment which meant we could have the chocolate and drink which we wouldn't have been able to have if it was only able to take coins to pay.

Later in the morning we got a call from the hospital to say that she had got an appointment the following day (today, Thursday.) at the eye clinic at 2.30.

Later. Thursday.

Carol's appointment was at 2.30 as I mentioned in the above. We walked to the hospital. I went on-line and found out where exactly the eye clinic was. It's within the outpatient's department, which, on thinking about it, is fairly obvious. I wanted to avoid the situation that we might have found ourselves in, wandering the seemingly never ending corridors in Milton Keynes hospital, rather like the Flying Dutchman in the Wagner opera. Although he wasn't lost in a hospital, but on the hight sea. Although the setting of an N.H.S. hospital might he rather interesting. You can walk in one entrance and then spend the rest of the day walking from one end to the other and never finding the department you want. We got there with plenty of time to spare. Full of people waiting. A definite captive audience. You could sell sandwiches, coffee and tea, newspapers, anything (but I bet you'd have to go through no end of paperwork and go through endless hoops, through regulations, health and safety, patient protection procedures etc, before being able to sell anything, so don't even bother to take it further. No doubt there's a tendering process, red tape and no end of  beurocratic nonsense before you could set up quite a lucrative business.) People of all ages, waiting for their appointments, all attempting like crazy to avoid eye contact with one another. Looking thoroughly bored. Along one side of the room, an array of booths, or kiosks, where you would go for your appointment. Each has a number, in extremely large sized lettering, from 1 through 6 or thereabouts. I realize that the patients had sight problems, but why do the signs have to be so large and obvious? It seemed a bit over the top. I have an image of someone of a 'certain age' who wears glasses, with those extremely thick lenses, like the bottom of bottles, which make their eyes look huge (rather like the bushbaby in the brilliant Ardman Animation mini film "Creature Comfort", which sits on a branch and at the end takes the glasses off and their eyes are tiny.) This person turns up for their appointment and then has great difficulty finding the right room their appointment is in and has to search by touch virtually alone, even though the sign for the room they have to go to has a sign with extremely tiny signage. Just an idea.

We sat at one side of the waiting area, right near the television that was on the wall. The gameshow "Decimate" comes on, a daytime show which I might or might not have seen. It has Shane Ritchie as compere. He plays Alfie Moon in 'EastEnders.' Our Yorkshire Terrier is named after him. Anyway, we had to sit quite close to the screen, but it meant we would have our backs to the rest of the room and wouldn't see anyone who came out to call when Carol's appointment came up. After around 10 minutes it was time for Carol's appointment. She went into the room and was gone for around 20 minutes or so. A young man with his mother came in. They sat directly under the television screen. He looked bored silly as if he didn't want to be there. I wasn't actually sure whether they were mother and son. She seemed to look too old to be his mother. She might have been his grandmother. They didn't speak or make any indication that they were actually together. Perhaps he wasn't old enough to get to the hospital appointment on his own. He probably couldn't drive a car or get a bus on his own (unlikely, thinking about it now.) Then she offered him an extra strong mint, which he accepted. He just stared off into space, but they never spoke to one another. Or perhaps she was going for the appointment. I wasn't sure. Anyway, they are now filed under 'characters' which I can use in my writing. Even just sitting in the hospital I was beginning to get ideas for writing stories. A definite fertile ground for inspiration.

Then Carol came out of the room where she'd had her appointment. She wanted me to go back in with her as the nurse who had been dealing with her eye injury had to go off to find a doctor to give a second opinion about her eye. It was regarding the eye problem she had had several years ago when she had gone to have an eye test at Asda and we were sent to Stoke Mandeville Hospital because the optician had found something which needed attention. Surprisingly, she has never had a follow-up appointment in all the intervening years. The lady was gone five minutes or so but then came back with a doctor who looked at Carol's eyes through a sort of microscope machine and gave the all clear on that problem. Regarding the recent eye injury, it appeared that whatever it was that had got into her eye had come out. It might have been a bit of grit or chemical from working at the Academy. The surrounding area around the eye had got very puffy and red and this, apparently, was due to the fact that she was getting an allergic reaction to the ointment she was given at the A and E department the previous day and was told to stop using it immediately. Also, she was given a prescription for some sort of drops which would help prevent dry eyes as apparently she wasn't producing the natural lubricant her eyes should produce to stop her eye healing properly. So, we walked out of the department and home and then drove to Sainsbury's to get the prescription made up. Unfortunately, on enquiring at the pharmacy, they didn't have it in stock but had to put in an order which should be ready for collection tomorrow after 12 noon.

10th Anniversary of my Heart Attack

Goodness gracious. How time flies. Sorry to use a really over-worked cliché, but it's true. I can't believe it's ten years since I had my heart attack. The night of 17th and 18th of May 2006 was when it happened. I have written quite extensively in an earlier blog post on here about what happened on that night and how the paramedics came and I ended up in the C.C.U. (Coronary Care Unit) at Bedford Hospital. I feel a good deal better than I did then. Actually, I feel as good as I've felt in a good long while. No real problems.

I've been mowing the grass at the back of the house. (I still refuse to refer to it as a 'lawn.') I did a cut yesterday, and to be perfectly honest with you, it looked really poor. As if it had been nibbled by some strange creature. Scrappy, to say the least. So I've cut it again and now it looks a good deal better. Not really like a lawn (it's never going to be that as it's just horrible grass.  Tough and terrible.) But it looks a good deal better. I've also been Stimming the long grass around the edges and cut some of the twigs that grow up along the fence. It's taken me a while to get the hang of the Strimmer (actually it's not a Strimmer, it's a Qualcast machine. 'Strimmer' is a registered trademark, but it's like 'Hoover' being used as a generic term for a vacuum cleaner.  But it works in exactly the same way.) It was worth buying a more expensive one as the extra power this one has means it does the job far better than a cheaper, lower power machine.)

The shed where the mower and strimmer are housed is beginning to cave in. Or at least the roof is. It has a hole in it. During the winter the wind took some of the roofing felt and left the remains, rotting and just past it, in the garden. So, what happens when the whole roof caves in? I don't suppose our beloved landlord is going to get it repaired. The lady next door, whose shed backs onto ours, had hers reroofed by the Council (they presumably own her house. They repaired the fence when it was blown down by a really severe winter wind some while ago.) The shed is full of the odd belongings of former tenants of this property, such as ancient portable televisions, baby baths, etc etc. Similar leaving are in the other shed, including a really old mattress and other bits and pieces. The meter cupboard, which is at the front of the house, contains similar junk. Why couldn't either the landlord or SmartMove, the agency we originally rented from, have this stuff removed before we moved in? It surely wouldn't have taken too much to get a skip and just throw the stuff away. Too much trouble to expect such a service, without us being charged. Gary, our neighbour the 'other side' suggested he repair the roof of one shed and take away all the junk within and then make one shed waterproof and then put a door in from his garden side so he could use it to store his things. But then he had second thoughts, having spoken to someone further along the street who knows our landlord and said that it might not be such a good idea because once they found out they'd want to charge rent. Also, I imagine that it might contravene our tenancy agreement, sort of 'sub-letting' or something. But it still means that we can't put anything of ours in there, including our bicycles which are still kept in the entrance hall of the house.

Warmer Weather and Car Repairs

It's another of those strange autumn days when it seems that the weather can't quite make it's mind up. It's a good deal milder, but then it might suddenly change and we get a sharp drop in the temperature and even a slight frost. It was strange yesterday with warm and sunny in the morning but there was a slight hint of rain later.

Mick, the motor mechanic, has been to work on the car for two evenings. I think he's managed to get the part out which needs replacing. He's now on holiday for two weeks so we won't get the rest of the work done on the car completed well into October. Never mind, we've managed to do without the car for quite a while now so I'm sure a couple more weeks without it won't do us much harm.

I'm feeling a good deal better. The cold and cough have more or less gone, but I have been left with a really uncomfortable chest. Not pleasant, particularly when I've had a heart attack and it's a similar sort of feeling. I think it's caused by the incessant coughing. It's much better this morning. Hopefully by Monday it will have cleared completely. Exertion such as walking any distance does tend to set it off but rest relieves it somewhat.

We are still waiting with bated breath regarding the landlord sorting out the fence. No word regarding having the house surveyed. Someone came to do this around two weeks ago. Also, the gas boiler needs a safety check. It's a legal requirement, and it hasn't been done since the landlord took over the running of the house from Smart Move. If it's not done soon we will have to get it done ourselves and certainly before the winter months and the weather gets cold and we need to have the central heating on for any length of time.

Doctor's Appointment

I went to Ashfield Medical Centre yesterday morning, arriving outside at around 7.45, having taken Carol to Tesco's in Oldbrook to buy sandwiches and other items for lunch as she can't seem to be able to get a decent snack for her lunch at The Academy. Another story for another day. It's been really pleasant and sunny for the past few days. There are a few other people ahead of me in the queue and soon quite a few draw up in their cars and join behind me. People seem to make a point of not giving any sort of eye-contact with anyone else and seem content to be plugged in with ear-phones to either their mobile phones or iPods or peering at their micro-screens rather than make any sort of conversation. It seems sad that that is the way society is going, no sort of human contact with a real person rather than with a gadget of some sort. The queue shuffles forward and eventually the doors to the surgery opens and we move inside. I manage to reach the reception desk and make an appointment to see Doctor Haye at 5 this afternoon. I return home and spent some time cutting the grass with the Flymo. It takes a good deal longer than it needs to complete the job. The length of the grass doesn't help, neither does the fact that the grass is slightly wet. Last year we didn't cut the grass for quite a while and it got so long it began to seed and it was a real jungle. When we let the dogs out they were barely visible. It is no good allowing the grass to get to that length so it's best to keep it short. Also, the uneven nature of the ground doesn't exactly make life easy, but doing the job in stages means I can complete the entire job over the course of the week. It's a very strenuous work and after a while I get some pain in my chest and arrms so I leave off and wind up the cable and put the machine back in the shed for next time.

I eventually make my way to the surgery for my appointment for 5, arriving at around 4.45. I find it's best to get there a good ten minutes before the allotted appointment as you can sometimes be seen before your set time if the surgery is running to schedule or another patient doesn't turn up on time. There aren't too many people waiting when I arrive so it seemed a good idea as well as being able to get through the traffic. You have to drive through the roundabout on Standing way which can become quite difficult if there is a really heavy amount of traffic. Fortunately this evening it wasn't too bad as it was before the usual going-home sort of time. Also, the weather was sunny and bright, no rain or other weather conditions bad enough to make driving hazardous.

My appointment eventually comes up on the digital display at around 5.10. Never mind the wait and my sitting and observing other people coming and going is useful for character-development for my creative writing. I go into the surgery. I have managed to make a list of things I need to discuss with the doctor. I have also managed to make a longer appointment as you are kindly told to make longer appointment with the doctors if you have more than one thing you need to discuss. Fair point when you consider that the appointments are supposed to be only ten minutes or so. One thing I needed to bring up was last week, when I was coughing on a regular basis, was when I was getting a pain in my chest, something like an angina attack. I can become difficult as you can imagine, having experienced a heart attack. Sometimes it can be very difficult to differentiate between 1- the symptoms of a heart attack 2- an angina attack and 3- a indigestion attack or 'heart-burn.' These there are very similar. having spent a few days coughing, and it has been a v very dry cough with nothing to actually cough our, there was no phlem to cough out, this coughing seemed to be responsible for the chest-pain. I cannot take certain cough remedies and have to be careful as some can interact with my medication. I have been taking one linctus which we bough over the counter in Sainsbury's pharmacy a few days previously. Also, merely sucking some sort of sweet or medicated confection which helps relieve the annoying tickling cough which usually develops when I lie down at night. Anyway, this chest-pain got really bad last weekend and into Monday when we went out for the day to visit Basildon Park. It concerns me to some extent that this is going to be a heart attack, and at one point I had to lie down until the discomfort in my chest subsides. I mention this to Carol, who had been coughing herself and had to spent time in bed because she wasn't feeling well herself. The discomfort I was experiencing gradually went off but as I had to visit the doctor anyway I decided to mention it to him. He listened to my chest and did a blood-pressure test and assured me that there was no problem with my heart. Certainly no chance of a heart attack coming on but I was glad that it wasn't serious. Not a good idea to ignore anything like I'd experienced. I had taken one or two of my isoborbide mononitrate tablets when the pain hadn't gone off last week. I had been prescribed this medication some while ago when I'd had fairly severe angina attacks and had to go into hospital. Up until then I had always used  a glycerol trinittrate spray which I had been given on prescription from the time of my original heart attack back in 2006, but I'd stopped having one for such times as I had an angina attack a couple of years ago.  When ever a bad angina attack happens you merely spray a short amount from the little bottle under your tongue and the pain is reduced. It does work, but I will keep this new bottle or spray in my medications box in case of emergencies. But now I was given a prescription to have a new one which I can use when and if another such angina attack comes on again. The doctor prints out my prescriptions and I leave the surgery and then go into Cox and Robinson's pharmacy which is conveniently located a short walk from the surgery. Within around 10 minutes they have made up my prescription and I leave and drive home.

I have been watching a really brilliant series on BBC2. Well, I have been downloading the episodes on iPlayer, so not actually 'on-air' as it's transmitted or recorded on our Sky+ box. The series is called 'Nurse' and stars Paul Whitehouse and Esther Coles who plays a community psychiatric nurse called Liz and we see her visiting her N.H.S, patients or to be politically correct 'service users.' Puts me very much in mind of my own work as a home carer as well as doing work with those with learning disabilities. We had to refer to our people we worked with as either 'clients' or 'service users,' both of which, to me are really clunky and sound peculiar. 'End-user' is another term I have come across which is even worse. I suppose it come from the Thatcher era when everyone and everything had a cost, had a monetary value when things were being privatised. Anyway, she visits a wide selection of different people in their homes who have mental health problems and is not what you'd describe as a 'bundle of laughs.' I don't think it's supposed to be a comedy in the loose meaning of the term 'comedy' but it has a much deeper meaning and purpose than a lot of what is put out on television but it's all the better that it gives a glimpse of this sort of work and makes the viewer think about mental health in a new way. What I am coming to is that when I arrived in the pharmacy having got my prescription from the doctor a few minutes previously, there was a young man in there at the counter who could have stepped out of one of those 'Nurse' episodes. He seemed to be dressed exactly like one of Nurse Liz's service users and even spoke like one of them. I think it made it seem more relevant this television series has been and how very well developed the characters have been. If you haven't seen this I can recommend it but don't expect a whole load of laughs although it does have a certain amount of humour in it, but in my opinion it isn't always the 'laugh-out-loud' comedy which works best but the work that makes you think that is often the best.

Weather Changes and Flu Jabs

I had to be at Ashfield Medical Centre at 8 this morning as I had to have my annual flu jab. Because of having had a heart attack I am one of the 'at risk' groups who automatically get a flu jab before winter starts and there is a likelihood of being infected. It can be quite life-threatening if you have flu whilst having a heart condition, apparently. I arrived with around 15 minutes to spare and got the car parked and then stood in the queue which had already started to build up, with around 20 people standing on the steps outside the surgery door. It was all good natured and the rain clouds were building up as we waited and hence there was a possibility we might get wet. I did feel what might have been a raindrop, but I'm not sure. We got inside once the doors were open and then there was a wait of a few minutes before I got to the lady on the reception. She put my name in the computer database and registered me and I had to wait a further ten minutes or so before being called into the doctor's surgery. The actual jab was totally painless and I was out again within two minutes and driving home. Fortunately there was virtually no traffic as I drove back to Eaglestone.


The television forecast has been correct: it is now very much colder and wetter today than it has been for the past few weeks. The Indian Summer is now over. It's been raining, not particularly hard, but it's been raining nonetheless. We went to Staples to buy some computer printer ink cartridges and other items and it was reasonably dry and we went out, but on getting back home, having been to Waitrose, which is a mile and a half further down Chaffron Way from home, it was raining quite hard.

N.H.S Changes Advice on Asprin

Here we go again. This morning's BBC Breakfast reported that the  N.H.S. has changed it's advice on the use of aspirin for those with a risk of having a heart attack. I have been taking soluble aspirin as part of my medication routine since I had my heart attack in May 2006 so the news was of great interest to me. The Daily Telegraph reported it as follows:

'More than a million people with a common heart condition have been told not to take aspirin to guard against stroke, in a reversal of previous N.H.S. advice.'

'New medical recommendations warn that the pills are ineffective in reducing the danger for those suffering heart rhythm disorders and that the risk of side-effects outweigh the benefits.'

'Up to 7, 000 strokes and 2,000 premature deaths a year could be prevented if patients were put on new drugs instead, experts said.'

'Until now, adults suffering from arterial fibrillation have been advised to take a daily dose of aspirin- a blood-thinning drug- as the heart condition often causes clots, leading to a risk of stroke that is five times higher in other people.'

But revised guidance from the National Institute of Health and Care  Excellence (NICE) says a new generation of drugs is far better than aspirin at reducing the danger for such patients and is less likely to cause side-effects including internal bleeding.'

'Patients are advised to seek medical advice from their GP before stopping their current medication, but the guidance recommends that anticoagulant drugs which prevent clots should be prescribed instead.'

I will not be stopping my use of aspirin until I've spoken to my doctor as I don't obviously want to risk having a blood clot again which could cause another heart attack. All this chopping and changing over the use of various medications such as aspirin and statins which I take to prevent another heart attack is just a little bit confusing and annoying, to say the least.

Foggy to Start, but Sunny Later . . .

There was a thick fog obscuring most of Milton Keynes early this morning. As the morning has worn on the fog has gradually lifted and as I write this the sun is out. There are definite signs of spring around here as there are primroses and daffodills blooming all along the sides of the grid roads around Milton Keynes. A definite sign of things getting better weather-wise. Our neighbour knocked on the front door a day or two ago and came to mow our front lawn. I now discover that he had a heart attack, and what makes it worse is that he was in his 30's when it happened. Much to young. Shock news that Bob Crow, leader of the R.M.T. railway union died of a heart attack at the age of 52. I can't say that I was ever a fan, but one can only admire someone who had such respect from people, even those who were of the opposing political view such as Boris Johnson. At least you have to admire the man as at least you knew what he stood for, unlike a lot of people in public life and in particular politics. 

Our dogs are enjoying the sunshine. We have managed to stop up the hole in the fence so they can go in and out of the house through the patio doors. Alfie loves to lay in the sunshine and spreads himself out so as to get the full benefit.

There was a headline in one of today's newspapers claiming that statins have no side effects. Who are they trying to kid? I'm sure that a lot of the aches and pains I get are caused by the statin tablets I'm taking, pravastatin. I know that they are supposed to keep my cholesterol levels low enough to prevent blood clots and then another heart attack, but it would be more conducive to my faith in this sort of medication if the professionals who are supposed to have my interests at heart (no sort of pun intended) would make up their minds one way or another as to their safety, efficacy or whatever.

'Thousands More to be prescribed statins in new NICE guidelines'

BBC Breakfast television news this morning had an item about NICE's  (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) recommendations that more people should be prescribed statins to reduce cholesterol levels in their blood.

The following is a quote as it appears on the NICE website:

'Thousands more people could be prescribed statins to help lower cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes, under draft guidance.'

'In an update to the existing guideline on lipid modification, NICE is proposing that the threshold be halved for offering statins to people to prevent cardiovascular disease (CVD), the cause of 1 in 3 of all deaths in the UK.'

'Currently, only people with a 20 per cent or greater 10-year risk of developing CVD are offered statins. Draft guidance now recommends offering statins to people who have a 10 per cent or greater 10-year risk of developing CVD.'

'As many as 7 million people in the UK are currently believed to take statins, at an estimated annual cost of £450 million.'

'GPs should estimate the level of risk among their patients using the QRISK2 assessment tool and measurements including whether or not they smoke, their cholesterol levels, blood pressure, and body mass index. The calculator then provides a percentage risk of developing CVD in the next 10 years.'

'NICE had previously recommended the US Framingham risk tool before withdrawing advice about which risk assessment tool to use in February 2010. New evidence has suggested that QRISK2 is a more accurate CVD risk tool particularly among ethnic populations.'

'Patients with type 2 diabetes should, however, have their risk assessed using the UKPDS risk tool.'

'NICE recommends that GPs start statin treatment for the primary prevention of CVD with atorvastatin 20 mg. Patients with established CVD, type 1 diabetes or type 2 diabetes should be offered a higher strength 80mg dose of atorvastatin.'

I have been on statins since I had my heart attack in 2006. As I have mentioned in earlier posts on this blog, I had tried various forms of statins, Simvastatin for example, some of which had quite extreme side-effects, one being, when I was in hospital, being like having flu, muscle cramps,etc etc until I eventually settled on Pravastatin, which is what seems to have the least of the side effects. Reading the leaflet which is enclosed with the tablets you can see what these might be. They are, to mention only a few:

insomnia, dizziness, tiredness, headaches, sleep disturbances (surely insomnia would cover that?), muscle and joint pain, nausea, diarrhoea, wind, (I'm sure I suffer from most of these, unfortunately. I'm not so sure whether it's because of the statins though.) 

I think personally it's best to have a decent diet, low or fat-free food, for example I have always had semi-skimmed milk and use low-fat spreads instead of butter, eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetable, give up smoking (I have never smoked so that doesn't matter to me, and cut down on alcohol intake (I drink very little so that doesn't effect me. I'd personally rather spend the money on a good book than alcohol, so I don't find that a hardship to give up.) Also, take plenty of exercise (we recently joined a gym and go swimming twice a week, and walk regularly. Not perhaps at the moment, but that's down to the poor weather, unfortunately. 

I don't personally think just putting healthy people on statins is such a good idea. If they have a risk of stroke or heart attack, maybe it's a good idea. As there was a family history of heart problems in my family then it would have been a good idea to be prescribed statins (as it happened I wasn't. Would it have prevented me having a heart attack? That, of course, is open to doubt. I was told by my doctor years ago to go on a low-fat diet, which is one reason why I went over to using semi-skimmed milk. It took some getting used to after having full-fat milk, but now I actually prefer it. Some low fat products are frankly awful, thin, tateless and now particularly nice, but there are quite  few quite nice alternatives, such as spreads, yoghurts etc etc.)

Swimming and Trimming

When we went to Ilfracombe in August we stayed at a John Fowler holiday park. There was a swimming pool within the site and we could use it with no extra charge. I generally love swimming. In fact, it was one thing I did actually enjoy when I was at Rushmoor School. I learnt to swim there. We weren't allowed on my father's boats until we children could swim which seemed a good enough reason to learn. I believe that all children should be taught as you never know when you are likely to need to save yourself from drowning. I used to go swimming regularly at one time every Sunday morning at the Robinson Pool in Bedford. I hadn't swum since I had my heart attack in 2006 so when I went to the pool on holiday I was somewhat wary of actually getting in the water and what sort of stress it would put on my heart. I need not have worried. Although not a particularly strong swimmer I can do quite a few lengths of the pool without any sort of discomfort from angina. I find that if I take one of my isoborbide mononitrate tablets before I go it does prevent any sort of angina attacks. Since I was prescribed this medication I haven't really experienced a great deal of angina discomfort. 

When we came back from holiday both myself and Carol decided that we wanted to keep the swimming routine going and wanted to join a gym in Milton Keynes which has a swimming pool. After doing a certain amount of research we decided to visit a fairly recently opened gym, D.W. Fitness, which is located within the grounds of Milton Keynes football stadium. We had a tour of the premises and then had a free session. There is not only the usual gym factilities within the gym but a very well-appointed swimming pool which also has two spa-pools (Jacuzzis), hot room and even tanning rooms (which we don't intend using, but it's great to have all of this at no extra charge.) As I am over 60 I get quite a reasonable discount and Carol gets a discount being a member of N.A.S.U.W.T., the teaching union. We try to go for a swim at least twice a week, although we didn't go at all for around a month when we had really bad coughs and bronchitis.

On Saturday we went to D.W. Fitness as the gym opened at 8. a.m. It was very pleasant to have the place virtually to ourselves and then to just sit in the spa pool and chill out. We hadn't tried the hot room so we decided to give it ago on Saturday. We didn't spend too much time in there. It was very hot and steamy (!) but I think it would be a good place to go if you have a cold or even any sort of health problem as you would certainly sweat out any impurities. I have been building up my stamina and have managed around 15-20 lengths of the pool but having lost some time not swimming due to the coughs and bronchitis this has had to be built up gradually again from doing only about 10 lengths.

We are getting the benefit of this exercise and I'm sleeping better. In fact, on Saturday I slept on the bed for round an hour as I was so chilled out by 2 o'clock. Also, I feel more invigorated and have lost some of my tummy as a result. We want to buy two bicycles later in the year so we can add cycling to our exercise routine. As Milton Keynes has such an excellent network of cycle-ways (Redways) there is absolutely no excuse to not ride around the city on bicycles. You have no need to use any of the roads and you can pass under, or over, the grid roads instead of actually getting off your bicycle.

Irritating Cold and Cough

For the past week or more I have been developing a really annoying cold. Carol came home from the Academy with a cold so I suppose I caught it off her, but I expect she got it from some child at the school. I remember when I was at school, as soon as the autumn term started up, having been on holiday for around six weeks, and we'd gone back to school, I almost always came down with some bug or other, so it's to be expected, particularly when you're working closely with a group of people such as school children. The same happened with the time I worked in care, there is always the chance that you will catch something from those you are caring for.

The cold turned into a cough. The cough got worse and worse. Having had a heart attack I am always wary of getting flu or colds and this more than ever since the week before my heart attack in 2006 I had suffered with a really bad bout of bronchitis, so you can see why I was beginning to get concerned. At one point, having had a really bad coughing fit, whenever I breathed in I got something of a pain in my chest. Carol suggested making a doctor's appointment. It is far easier to get to the  Ashfield Medical Centre in Beanhill before the surgery opens at 8.00 a.m., rather than phoning. It can take something like 30 minutes to get through, so driving there and getting in the queue that forms outside the door is easier. So on Thursday morning we drove to the surgery and got there at 7.45 and stood and waited. Around half-a-dozen brave folks already there in front of us, but at 8.00 sharp the doors were opened and we went inside. I managed to get an appointment immediately and was seen by Doctor Hilmy at 8.10. I was very impressed as I've never been able to make an appointment so rapidly, thus preventing all the unnecessary and annoying waiting that you might otherwise expect, or getting an appointment later in the day and so meaning you have to return to the surgery. My name came up on the digital display and we went into the doctor's surgery and the doctor prescribed me penicillin capsules. He then said 'have you had your flu jab?' I said I hadn't, but was expecting a letter from the surgery telling me I was due to have one. As we walked into the surgery we saw posters and a display on the very same subject, so it was quite obvious that they were about to give those of a 'certain age' (i.e. myself, over the age of 60.) and with 'certain health issues' (i.e. such as heart problems.) Any I was expecting him to say 'you can make an appointment with the nurse for your jab as you go out,' but he did it there and then, which neither of us was expecting. I was more than impressed as it meant that it was at least out of the way.

We then left the surgery and went to Asda and had breakfast. Fried bacon, egg, sausage etc etc for £2.50 seemed a very good bargain. We had some other shopping to do and then got the prescription made up by the pharmacy and went home.

Heart Disease and Fatty Foods A Myth?

The following is taken from a website called Healthy3.co.uk  and may be of interest to those people who have had a heart attack or have been prescribed the use of statins in order to lower their cholestrol levels. I take statins, having had a heart attack and as a result my cholestrol level has been maintained at a reasonable level. I’m not sure whether I would want to risk having another heart attack, as a result of having a blood clot, but the information below is very interesting

Fats- The Cholestrol Myth?

‘A cardiology specialist has written about the “myth” of saturated fat in a leading medical journal. Dr Aseem Malhotra suggests that full fat butter and cheese are not as bad for the heart as previously been suggested. This view goes against that of the majority of the medical establishment.’

‘Dr Malhotra, a cardiology specialist registrar at Croydon University Hospital in London says that four decades of medical wisdom of cutting down on saturated fat to reduce the risk of heart disease may be wrong. He argues that the saturated fats have been given a bad reputation since a major study in 1970 linked high levels of heart disease with high cholesterol and high saturated intake. Dr Malhotra even suggests that eating foods that have not been processed such as cheese, butter, eggs and yoghurt may even be good for the heart.’

‘Saturated fat should not be confused with “trans fats”, which are found in margarines, cakes, chocolates and biscuits. Trans fats are universally recognised as being bad for our health, and unlike saturated fats from dairy food, do not contain any vitamins or minerals. Dairy foods are rich in vitamin A and D, calcium and phosphorus, which can help to support cardiac function.’

‘Cutting down on saturated fat has been the mantra from the health authorities, but these fats are being replaced with refined carbohydrates or sugars which are thought be more dangerous for cardiac health.’

‘The current NHS guidelines recommend that the average man should eat no more than 30g of saturated fat a day and the average woman should eat no more than 20g of saturated fat a day. Cutting down on sugar should be more of a priority according to Dr Malhotra.’

‘Dr Malhotra said, “From the analysis of the independent evidence that I have done, saturated fat from non-processed food is not harmful and probably beneficial. Butter, cheese, yoghurt and eggs are generally healthy and not detrimental. The food industry has profited from the low-fat mantra for decades because foods that are marketed as low-fat are often loaded with sugar. We are now learning that added sugar in food is driving the obesity epidemic and the rise in diabetes and cardiovascular disease.”’

‘Dr Malhotra also questions the mass prescribing of statin medications, as he believes that doctors are not assessing the risk of heart disease correctly. Decades of warnings that high cholesterol levels cause heart disease have led to over medication of statins in health patients, he claimed.’

‘“The fact that no other cholesterol lowering drug has shown a benefit in terms of mortality supports the hypothesis that the benefits of statins are independent of their effects on cholesterol,” he wrote in the British Medical Journal.’

‘He goes on to suggest that a Mediterranean diet is more effective than taking a statin to promote a healthy heart and cholesterol levels.’

‘Dr Malhotra also pointed out an interesting fact that although the amount of fat consumed in the US has gone down in the past 30 years, obesity rates have rocketed. This is linked to the amount of carbohydrates and sugars that are in “low fat” versions of processed foods.’

Article written by Rahul Shah and published on October 23^rd 2013

Four Things That Happen Before a Heart Attack

These 4 Things Happen Right Before a Heart Attack

I reproduce below an article I found on a website called Newsmax health and written by S.A. Nickerson. It was published first on 23rd August 2011. I reproduce it here as I hope it might help anyone who has had or might possible have a heart attack because they have a family history of heart-health problems. 'Despite what you may believe, heart attacks rarely happen "out of the blue." '

'In fact, your body may be trying to warn you of an impending heart attack for days, weeks, perhaps even a month or two before it occurs. Unfortunately, by the time you actually recognize you’re suffering a heart attack, it could be too late to prevent death or debilitating heart damage.'

'So-called silent heart attacks, with signs and symptoms that are mild or seem unrelated to the heart, have long concerned cardiovascular expert Dr. Chauncey Crandall. So Dr. Crandall recently created a special free video presentation about the four most sinister warning signs to watch for.'

'Statistics show a clear link between a delay in heart attack treatment and death or disability. That’s why it’s essential to know exactly what your heart is trying to tell you with warning signs like those discussed in Dr. Crandall’s video.'

'Although developed as an educational tool, this video rapidly went viral, surpassing 5 million viewers in just a few months.'

'Newsmax Health Publisher Travis Davis attributes the viral sensation to the fact that the content hits close to home for many Americans, especially because heart disease is America’s #1 killer. In fact, in the U.S. alone, nearly 1 million people suffer their first heart attack each year.'

'Dr. Crandall, chief of the cardiac transplant program at the renowned Palm Beach Cardiovascular Clinic in Palm Beach, Florida, practices on the front lines of interventional, vascular, and transplant cardiology.'

'Decades of clinical experience have afforded him the chance to detect little-known warning signs and symptoms like the four he addresses in the video.'

'Plus, in the video  Dr. Crandall also tells the real-life story of one man who suffered a “widow-maker” heart attack after ignoring the warning signs — and almost paid the ultimate price. The story is scary but eye-opening, because Dr. Crandall outlines what could have been done to actually prevent this from progressing to the life-threatening stage.'

'Dr. Crandall, medical editor of the Newsmax publication Heart Health Report, has a positive message: you don’t have to be a sitting duck for a deadly heart attack. In fact, according to Dr. Crandall, heart disease can be prevented — and even reversed — with the right information and simple lifestyle adjustments.'

© 2013 NewsmaxHealth. All rights reserved.

Beta blockers don't work, new study finds

 I came across the following article on the New Scientist website. I reproduce it below. As I am myself on beta blockers since having a heart attack (I am on Bisoprolol Fumarate.) so I am now somewhat concerned that these types of drugs don't actually do what they are supposed to do, or so the newest research would suggest. The article is dated 12th November 2012, so it is pretty recent. The article is fairly complex, but it is worth reading it in full to understand what the content of the report says.

  'Beta  blockers are busted- What Happens Next?'

'They have treated heart disease for 40 years but it now seems that beta blockers don't work. What went wrong?'

'IT IS very rare for new evidence to question or even negate the utility of a well-established class of drugs. But after four decades as a standard therapy for heart disease and high blood pressure, it looks like this fate will befall beta blockers. Two major studies published within about a week of each other suggest that the drugs do not work for these conditions. This is a big surprise, with big implications.

The first beta blocker, Inderal, was launched in 1964 by Imperial Chemical Industries for treatment of angina. This drug has been hailed as one of great medical advances of the 20th century. Its inventor, James Black, was awarded the Nobel prize in medicine in 1988.'

'The 20 or so beta blockers now on the market are very widely used - almost 200 million prescriptions were written for them in the US in 2010. They are standard issue for most people with heart disease or high blood pressure. This may now change.'

'A large study published last month in The Journal of the American Medical Association found that beta blockers did not prolong the lives of patients - a revelation that must have left many cardiologists shaking their. (JAMA, vol 308, p 1340.)'

'The researchers followed almost 45,000 heart patients over three-and-a-half years and found that beta blockers did not reduce the risk of heart attacks, deaths from heart attacks, or stroke.'

'While this is not definitive, it's pretty damning, especially when another study - published just days earlier - found pretty much the same thing.( Journal of the American  Geriatrics Society, vol 60. p1854.)'

'The goal of this second study was to examine the effect of drug compliance on death rates in patients who had had heart attacks. About half of patients complied with their drug regimen. Unsurprisingly, these people were nearly 30 per cent less likely to die than those who did not comply.'

'This was to be expected, but there was one big surprise. While the result held for the standard classes of heart drugs - statins, anticoagulants and antihypertensives - it did not for beta blockers. Regardless of whether or not patients stuck to their regimen, their risk of dying was the same. Taken together with the JAMA study, it becomes very reasonable to question the benefit of beta blockers for treating these conditions.'

'To understand what is going on, consider how they work. Like many drugs, beta blockers target receptors embedded in the surface of cells. Receptors are "molecular switches" - when a specific molecule binds to them, they change shape and send a signal to the cell to perform a certain function. Beta blockers target beta receptors, which respond to the "fight or flight" hormones adrenalin and noradrenalin.'

'In humans, there are two principle types of beta-receptor - beta-1, primarily found in the heart, and beta-2, located at multiple sites, including the smooth-muscle cells of the bronchial tubes and in veins.'

'When adrenalin and noradrenalin bind to beta-1 receptors, they signal the heart to beat faster and pump harder. Binding to beta-2 receptors causes smooth muscle relaxation, especially in the airways, explaining why beta-2 activators are used as asthma drugs.'

'Beta blockers bind to both types of receptor, but do not activate the cellular response. This blocks adrenalin and noradrenalin from reaching their target and activating the response. By preventing the normal hormone-receptor interaction, the beta blockers slow the heart and cause it to pump less forcefully, lowering blood pressure.'

'The premise of beta-blocker therapy has been that giving the heart a rest will diminish the frequency of heart attacks. In the light of the two new studies, it is clearly time to question this.

Which raises the question: why has it taken so long to find out? It is worth noting at this point that this is not yet another case of a drug entering the market only to be withdrawn later because of lack of efficacy or even adverse reactions which could have been noticed with longer or larger trials. It is simply a new medical revelation. The authors of the JAMA paper provide a reasonable explanation of the conflict between their results and earlier studies.'

'The key word is "earlier". Most clinical trials on beta blockers took place before reperfusion therapy became standard treatment following heart attacks. Reperfusion involves opening the blocked artery by surgery or pharmaceuticals, and has been shown to significantly reduce damage to the heart.

Damaged hearts are more prone to fatal irregular beats, and beta blockers are useful in controlling this. But with the advent of reperfusion therapy, people who survived heart attacks suffered less cardiac damage, so the frequency of fatal arrhythmias was lower. Put simply, the beta blocker effect was significant before the advent of this improved treatment, but the beneficial effect has since disappeared.'

'Additionally, newer and better drugs such as anticoagulants, statins and antihypertensives are now routinely used in heart disease. These more effective therapies swamp any smaller benefit that the beta blockers might provide, minimising any measurable effect.'

'What comes next is impossible to predict, but we may well be seeing a rare case of medical wisdom being overturned almost overnight. Beta blockers are not dangerous and have been in use for such a long time that it is unlikely that we will see an immediate cessation. But these results are hard to ignore, and cardiologists will be paying careful attention.'

The 300th Post!

Quite a momentous day, this, as this is the 300th post. The first post was written on 27th September 2009. A little over three years. I was writing about 'the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness.' Yes, a very similar day as I write this. The trees are slowly changing colour to every variation of brown, russet, red etc. It's a rather over-cast and dull sort of day. The sun is out and it is fairly bright, but there is quite a keen wind.

I can safely say that I feel a good deal better than I did when I began writing this blog, considering the fact that I had a heart attack in May 2006 (see earlier post for greater detail.)  I had intended the blog to be a discussion of my experiences of having a heart attack, and hope that my thoughts, experiences etc might be of use to anyone else who is going through the same things or has a partner or knows someone who has had a heart attack or has problems with, say, the side-effects of the medication. I think that a lot of my health problems are caused by the side-effects of  the medication, particularly statins (for example, muscle cramps, particularly in the stomach. I have now discovered that drinking some fizzy drinks such as Lucozade, can help relieve these side-effects, along with taking mint capsules, which I have on prescription.) I have not had a really bad angina attack, having been prescribed with isoborbide mononitrate. This working in the same way as the glyceryl trinitrate pump spray which I used to use if I had a really bad paid with an angina attack, as it opens up the arteries and allows better blood flow. I take these tables twice a day, at 8 a.m. and 2 p.m.

As mentioned in an earlier post, I am writing a novel. This, since the beginning of writing this blog. I never thought that it would develop the way it has gone, but I am really getting into my stride now. I'm currently reading Les Miserables, by Victor Hugo (the novel which is the basis for the musical and soon-to-be-released film version.) I'm quite amazed by this. It is an almighty work of fiction, some 1,500 pages. I am being influenced in my own attempts at writing, not necessarily by the story or the characters, but by the construction (ie. multiple storylines and characters that intertwine.)  For those who have not read this novel, I can recommened it, and in particular the version I am reading currently. It in a new translation by Julie Rose, and is in paperback, published by Vintage Classics.  The ISBN number is: 9780099529965 for those of you who want to find it in whatever catalogue or computer system you are likely to use. In Waterstone's, the British bookstore, it is currently on display, or was when we went to the Oxford branch two weeks ago.(no doubt in preparation for the imminent release of the film.) In America it was published by The Modern Library. There are good notes at the back, which are always useful for a novel of this sort.

Shift work increases chance of heart attack by more than 20%

Having listened to the rantings of the lady outside the doctor's surgery (as mentioned in the previous post.) and mentioning as she did Continental Shift Patterns, I decided to put this into Google, and was somewhat shocked to come across the following item, from The Standard of 27th July, 2012:

Shift work raises the risk of having a heart attack, a major review of working pattern health effects has shown.

Working unsocial hours was found to increase the chances of a heart attack by more than a fifth, with the risk of a stroke rising by 5%.

Shift patterns, especially night shifts, have long been linked to high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels and diabetes.

But experts have disagreed about their association with heart and artery disease.

The new research, the largest analysis of shift work and heart risk to date, pulled together evidence from 34 studies involving more than two million people.

Coronary events - including heart attacks and angina chest pains - and strokes were more common among shift workers.

The chances of "any coronary event" were increased by 24%, and of heart attacks by 23%, while stroke risk was raised slightly by 5%.

Despite the relatively small effect, the impact on a large population could be significant, the authors pointed out.

In Canada, where a number of the researchers were based, 7% of heart attacks could be attributed to shift work.

The scientists, led by Dr Daniel Hackam, from Western University in Canada, wrote in the British Medical Journal: "Shift work is associated with vascular events, which may have implications for public policy and occupational medicine."

Night shifts were associated with the steepest increase in risk for coronary events, 41%. But research found no link between shift work and higher death rates from any cause.