A number of people have accused (yes, accused) me of inducing my abdominal aortic aneurysm by undertaking endurance sports, in the form of Ironman, at an older age. Never made any sense to me, as it is clearly a connective tissue disorder, based on aortic fluid mechanics alone. The article referred to below supports my case. And here are the conclusions of this recent research study on the issue, posted ... Read more
I just received an 'out of the blue' communication from an endurance athlete, Shaun, an ultramarathoner who plans to continue his running once he recovers from recent aortic valve surgery. Shaun kindly permitted me to present his story here, as extracted from our e-mail conversation. When you are out there on your own on the trails with aortic disease, inspiration from fellow 'aortic athletes'' provides ... Read more
Hi folks, welcome! After completing (not wonderfully, but finishing anyway, though I lost my bet of a crab dinner to Greg who had a great race) the Eagleman Half Ironman last weekend, I went to the Cleveland Clinic for my 6 month checkup. All is well, in spite of concerns about cycling adversely affecting the stent graft extension that was installed about 6 months ago - so now to prepare for the 2014 ... Read more
"But, Mousie, thou art no thy lane, In proving foresight may be vain; The best-laid schemes o' mice an 'men Gang aft agley..." Rabbie Burns Hi folks, welcome! You don't make it in life alone, as you depend on many others for your sustenance and well being. I'm certainly very grateful for the support I received at the Cleveland Clinic with a recent repair to my displaced abdominal aortic aneurysm ... Read more
Hi folks, welcome to my thoughts on training as an older athlete with some aortic issues! The real trick to training with a health challenge is to understand your condition, modify your activity for the better (safer) as best you can, and get on with that which you enjoy, as safely as possible. I'm going to use my situation, the issue of cycling with an abdominal aortic aneurysm stent graft extension into ... Read more
Hi folks, welcome! From time to time I'm asked directly for advice on exercise with an aortic aneurysm, and here is such an example, provided as a excerpt from a comment stream on the Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Awareness Facebook page. Ranjit: “There's this gentleman I played golf with once. He was my age 64yrs and very well built. I was not aware that he had been treated with endovascular surgery/stent for an ... Read more
Hi folks, welcome! As fear seems to be playing an unnecessarily powerful role in my life, and potentially my decision-making, I thought it germane to read the book by Germain, so I downloaded it to my Nook. I was struck by one sentence in the synopsis, "Fear makes us stupid." I wondered, is this true? Well! Even today in my 70s, I have an abject fear of heights, which ruined my ability to enjoy the scenery in ... Read more
Chez Ollie "To watch the ego mind is to escape the ego mind - true happiness if you can master it - I have a way to go, but progress is being made." FitOldDog, today. Hi folks, welcome! My challenge today is to be content with the moment, whilst I attempt to write to inspire others and learn to inspire myself. I await an unknown surgery date. There is once again a finite risk of rupture of my abdominal aortic ... Read more
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