In 1973, I had open heart surgery to repair a large Atrial Septum Defect in my heart.

For the next 31 years, I suffered with disabling palpitations until I was diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome in 2004. I had a catheter ablation in October 2004 which stopped the palpitations and allowed me to build my fitness and stamina.

In 2013, due to work related stress, I started with a new form of palpitation. In 2017, I was diagnosed with anxiety and, following 6 weeks of Counselling, I finally managed to deal with the anxiety and the palpitations stopped again.

To regain confidence in my heart, that had been drastically affected by the anxiety, I decided to increase the intensity of my exercise. In October 2017, I walked up a sand dune and, instead of becoming tense through fear of my heart adversely reacting, I stayed relaxed and my heart recovered from the exercise naturally.

This started me on a path to reach a goal that I had agreed with my Counsellor. I continued to push myself and, as my confidence increased, so did the height of the hills that I could climb. 

Since April 2018, I've climbed 20 hills over 450m in height and I have decided to celebrate the 45th anniversary of my open heart surgery by attempting to climb 45 hills over 450m before May 2019.

I've decided to try and raise money for Heartbeat as they provide amazing support for cardiac patients in the North West. Patients who, like me, have lost confidence in their heart either due to heart attacks or other cardiac related incidents. 

My battle with anxiety, and subsequent recovery, has demonstrated the devastating power that anxiety and other Mental Illnesses can have on your heart. The work performed by Heartbeat, in reassuring and supporting their patients, is invaluable in allowing the patients to build their confidence and rebuild their lives.

Any donations will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Mike