At the end of 2019, I thought I was in the best shape of my life. However, it turned out I had an undiagnosed blockage in my right coronary artery – i.e. a heart attack waiting to happen.

How can a 42 year old Marathon Runner need a stent? The answer in my case is Familial Hypercholesterolaemia (FH) – this condition affects 1 in 250 people, and I want to raise awareness of what it is and why it's important for you to know your cholesterol levels!

My full story and more about FH are below, but first – here’s what I’m doing to raise money for the British Heart Foundation:

Saturday 14^th August 2021 – Mourne Seven Sevens Challenge Walk - The Seven Sevens is an 18 mile, 8100ft test of endurance and mountain skills. The objective is to climb all seven peaks in the Mourne Mountains that are over 700m* above sea level following your own route between fixed checkpoints - in one day.

*NOTE Re the Marathons below - what you see is the original plan. However, recently Belfast changed their date to coincide with the London Marathon (great idea, huh?) so I will run my virtual marathon on the original date (19th September) then run the actual Belfast Marathon on 3rd October. I will be able to submit my Belfast time to London to get my medal. As I will have still actually ran 2 x 26.2 mile routes, the outcome will be the same at the end.

Sunday 19^th September 2021 – Belfast City Marathon – Running 26.2 miles through the streets of Belfast – Normally this is held in May, but this year it was swapped with the Half Marathon Race so the full event should go ahead, as planned.

Sunday 3^rd October 2021 – Virtual London Marathon
– Running 26.2 miles on the same day as the official London Marathon. The London Marathon is virtual again this year, so I’ll be running the 26.2 miles on the same day as a registered runner. However my route will be from the Titanic Belfast Building, up to Lisburn Civic Centre along the Lagan Towpath and back again – one of my favourite routes. It has been said that running a solo Marathon without the cameraderie of other runners or the crowds is more difficult than a 'public' event...having ran over 2000 miles in 2018 during training for my first Marathon, I can certainly relate to that!

What is familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH)?

FH is an inherited condition that is passed down through families and is caused by one or more faulty genes. It's caused by a genetic mutation that means your liver is unable to remove excess ‘bad’ cholesterol, known as LDL. This means the LDL level in your blood remains high.

If you have very high cholesterol levels or if you’ve had high cholesterol from birth, you may have FH. Having FH means you’re at a greater risk of getting heart and circulatory disease at an early age if the condition is left untreated. Around 1 in 250 of the UK population has the condition, although many people are unaware they have it.

The BHF has helped halve the number of people dying from heart and circulatory disease in the UK but sadly every day hundreds of people lose their lives. It's only thanks to support from people like us that the BHF can create new treatments and discover new cures. £24 could pay for two hours of research by an early career scientist, but every pound helps so please give what you can to help me hit my target. Thankyou so much.

Here's My full story (scroll through the gallery at the top for some pictures) -

Hi, I’m David, I’m 44 years old and in January 2020 I had a stent fitted to my right coronary artery. Not an unusual story on the face of things, but when you consider I had no idea I needed one and that it was caused by a genetic condition that is thought to affect 1 in 250 people, you maybe get an idea as to why I want to share my story.

I was diagnosed with very high cholesterol when I was 34 years old (in 2010) – I had been contacted by a team working to trace everyone through my extended family that might need tested for a condition called Familial Hypercholesterolemia (FH). So, as expected, I tested positive for FH and that was responsible for most of my high cholesterol levels – I had to own up to some of it being due to my unhealthy lifestyle at the time. However for most people their cholesterol levels may rise later in their adult life due to poor lifestyle choices, but with FH your cholesterol is high from birth, so the chances of developing a life-threatening blockage earlier are much greater.

My cholesterol levels were quickly brought down by statins (which I had no issues with, just a simple 2 tablets a day) and over the next couple of years I also started exercising more, lost 5 stone, stopped drinking alcohol completely, overhauled my diet and started running, yoga, cold water swimming and gym 4 times a week. I had grown tired of being big (and getting bigger), being unhealthy, stressed, having no energy and feeling like crap. I had a bad back, had a case of shingles due to stress at 35 and knew something had to change. I used to joke and call it my "Fit for 40" plan!

By the time I was 42, I had 2 full marathons and a bunch of half marathons under my belt – raising over £7000 for good causes in the process. Running became self care for my physical and mental well being. Training for my first Marathon gave me a reason to get up and keep going after my Mum died suddenly in January 2018.

I had become a Runner (with a capital R!)...

I was absolutely in the best shape of my life – physically and mentally. My Cholesterol levels were down to levels that my Consultant, Dr Trinnick was very happy with – i.e. lower than normal so as to reduce any further build up in my arteries.

Conversations around my running and heart health led to Dr Trinnick recommending a precautionary CT scan at the Ulster Hospital under the care of Dr Patrick Donnelly - "Wouldn't do any harm to have a look, just in case".

I waited 9 months (as it wasn’t deemed urgent in any way) and on the morning of the scan I did a “short” 7 mile run then took myself up to the hospital, expecting to be scanned, given a clean bill of health and sent on my way.

What actually happened was that I was put on blood thinners immediately, advised to stop all exertion and told I had a severe blockage in my right coronary artery. In short I was a heart attack waiting to happen. You hear about those guys in their 40’s who seem super fit, run marathons then there’s a big shock when they drop dead? Turns out that could have been me.

It was obviously a massive shock, given that I had no symptoms or inkling that I had this problem. However I knew that it was a Good Thing that it had been found before it came a bigger issue, or even killed me, and I will be forever grateful for the NHS, who brought me in and fitted the stent within 8 weeks of diagnosis.

That was January 2020 and not long after my Cardiac Rehab was cancelled due to Covid, so I had to find my own way somewhat. Every patient is different and while I was cleared for exercise and had discussed how I could return to running Marathons again I did find that I would have odd sensations at times that were unnerving (I fully accept some of this was psychological) – so it meant that getting back to my former health took a lot longer than I had initially thought.

However I marked my 1 year Stent Anniversary in January 2021 with an unofficial Half Marathon to celebrate!

Once I got that over me I felt that things were finally on the turn. I've been back to running regularly even since and (Covid restrictions permitting) have gotten back to most of the fitness activites I loved before. 

So, there's life after stents. A full life. I am so Very Grateful to the NHS, specifically the people who looked after me like Dr Trinnick, Dr Donnelly and Dr McKavanagh and their Teams. And all the while there are others like those in the BHF who are working away in the background offering further support and conducting essential research to help develop new treatments and therapies.

If you've made it this far, well done. Now GO AND GET YOUR CHOLESTEROL CHECKED!