Post 50Heart Diseaseheart health

Runner Has Heart Attack During Race, Still Completes It

"I was determined to finish."
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By 

General Assignment Reporter, HuffPost

While pushing through chest pains to finish a running race might not be the wisest move, Glenn Davies did it and now has quite a story to tell.

To be clear: Davies, 51, suffered a heart attack during the May event, although he didn't know it at the time. What he did know was that he had a dull ache in his chest after the first loop of a 5K race in Huddersfield, England. So he slowed to a jog for the second loop, he told SWNS in an interview posted Wednesday on YouTube. When the pain persisted, he walked the rest of the way. "I was determined to finish," he said.

Noticing his pallor and shortness of breath after the race, his wife took him to a local hospital. An electrocardiogram didn't reveal any problem at first, but blood test results 12 hours later determined that Davies had indeed suffered a heart attack.

"Bit of a shock, to say the least," he told SWNS. Davies, who has two stepsons, said he considered himself fit with four half-marathons under his belt. He has never smoked and his family has no history of heart disease.

According to the Huddersfield Examiner, he was immediately transferred to a coronary care unit where surgeons inserted two stents after discovering one of his arteries was partially blocked.

But Davies is nothing if not determined. On Sunday, he ran his first "official race" since the May incident -- the Kirkwood Hospice 10K --  and thankfully it was far less eventful. "I was actually relaxed, which was surprising," he said. He finished in a net time of 1 hour, 1 minute and 51.8 seconds.

“I would be lying if I said the heart attack hadn’t changed me but with time I can’t see why most things I wanted to do before can’t still be achieved,” he reportedly said.

 Also on HuffPost:

Heart-Healthy Habits And Behaviors
1. Not Smoking(01 of07)
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While not entirely surprising, it doesn't make the message any less important: Smoking kills. The habit is considered the No. 1 cause of preventable death and sickness in the U.S. Specifically, smoking cigarettes harms the heart in that it damages heart and blood vessel function, thereby upping the risk of atherosclerosis (where your arteries harden), according to the National Institutes of Health. (credit:alamy)
2. Being Physically Active(02 of07)
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Aerobic exercise is good for the heart in that it makes you take in more oxygen, helps you keep to a healthy weight, reduces plaque buildup in the arteries and helps to lower blood pressure, according to the Mayo Clinic. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, adults are recommended to get at least 150 minutes of aerobic exercise a week (moderate to intense level), and also do muscle-strengthening at least twice a week. (credit:alamy)
3. Maintaining Normal Blood Pressure Levels(03 of07)
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Blood pressure measurements are written in terms of systolic over diastolic. Systolic pressure is "as the heart beats," according to the National Institutes of Health, while diastolic pressure is the relaxation of the heart between heartbeats. A person with a normal blood pressure level has a systolic blood pressure reading of 120 millimeters of mercury or less, and a diastolic blood pressure reading of 80 millimeters of mercury or less. A person is considered hypertensive (has high blood pressure) when the systolic blood pressure is between 140 and 159, and the diastolic blood pressure is between 90 and 99. (credit:alamy)
4. Maintaining Normal Blood Glucose Levels(04 of07)
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Having chronically high levels of glucose, a kind of sugar, in the blood can lead kidney and blood vessel damage, according to WebMD. Insulin, a hormone in the body, is responsible for helping the body's cells to use glucose in the blood. However, if the body doesn't have enough insulin or isn't able to use it properly, then blood sugar levels may rise, according to the American Diabetes Association. High blood sugar is considered a diabetes complication. Tests to check for high blood glucose can help show whether a person has diabetes, and are used to monitor someone with diabetes over time, WebMD reported. (credit:alamy)
5. Maintaining Normal Total Cholesterol Levels(05 of07)
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High cholesterol is a known risk factor for heart disease, because it causes hardening of arteries going to the heart, according to the National Institutes of Health. When part of the heart is deprived of blood, it could trigger a heart attack. The optimum total cholesterol level is 200 or fewer milligrams of cholesterol per deciliter of blood, while having a total cholesterol level of 200 to 239 milligrams per deciliter is considered borderline high. High total cholesterol is having 240 milligrams of cholesterol per deciliter of blood, or more, according to the National Institutes of Health. (credit:alamy)
6. Having A Healthy Weight(06 of07)
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Calculating your body mass index (BMI, a ratio of weight to height) is a good starting point for knowing if you're at a healthy weight, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. According to the BMI chart, having a BMI of 18.5 or below is considered "underweight" and a BMI of 18.5 to 24.9 is considered "normal" or healthy weight. A BMI of 25 to 29.9 is considered overweight, and a BMI of 30 and above is considered obese. Click here to calculate your BMI. Waist circumference can also give clues to your weight; a man may be at risk for health problems from obesity if his waist circumference is more than 40 inches, the CDC reported. For a non-pregnant woman, it's more than 35 inches. (credit:alamy)
7. Eating A Healthy Diet(07 of07)
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While there are obviously differences in opinion depending on who you ask as to what you should or shouldn't eat for optimal health, there are some heart-healthy nutrition rules that remain true across the board. The Mayo Clinic reports that eating a diet low in cholesterol and "bad" fats (saturated and trans fats), with low-fat proteins (like lean meats, fish and beans), whole grains (with lots of fiber), and little sodium is good for your heart. For more nutrition advice, click over to the Mayo Clinic. (credit:alamy)

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