'As a fitness coach, I was shocked I had heart disease'

A fitness coach who was training clients hours before being rushed to hospital for surgery said it was a "big shock" to discover he had coronary heart disease.

Dean Dyble, 54, from Harrogate, initially thought he was experiencing indigestion and heartburn but later underwent emergency surgery for a blocked artery.

The former powerlifter said it was "cathartic" to share his story, as way to show that anyone could be at risk of the disease, particularly those with a family history.

"I was quite fit and healthy, I was very active, I felt that I was I was almost protected from it - but that's not the case," he said.

Dyble said he experienced chest pain for four days before being taken to hospital and he had no idea that his symptoms could be linked to a heart attack.

"I naively thought it was just really, really bad heartburn," he said.

"I thought, I'll go to work in the morning and on the way home from work, I'll nip into to the chemist and and try to get something else to shift it."

During a personal training session with a client, he said the pain was "horrendous" and travelled down his arm and neck, so he left work early to rest at home.

Although he still "hadn't put two and two together", he called 111 to describe his symptoms and an ambulance was dispatched immediately.

Dyble said it was a "surreal experience" to be driven under sirens and lights to Leeds General Infirmary, where he was rushed straight to the operating theatre.

He had emergency surgery to clear a blockage in a left ventricle artery and was later told he could have been 45 minutes away from his heart stopping entirely.

"It was a really big shock. Not just for me, but for my family and for people that knew me as well," he said.

While in recovery, a consultant told him he had widespread coronary heart disease, which although classed as mild to moderate, needed to be managed with medication.

Although Dyble's parents both experienced heart attacks, he said due to his profession and lifestyle, he had not made the connection with his own health.

"It doesn't just appear, it takes years to build up," he said.

"It can start when you're much younger."

When he was discharged from hospital, Dyble said he was initially "quite euphoric".

"It felt almost like I'd cheated death. I felt like Superman," he said.

"But what happened over time was, I started to realise what this now meant, in terms of what I could and couldn't do."

Alongside medication, Dyble had to make some lifestyle changes, which included stepping away from powerlifting indefinitely, a decision he called "very difficult".

"Training and exercise is a big part of my life and that was that was something I had to try to get my head round.

"That's when my emotional state dropped a bit and a low mood came into the equation."

He felt that although his family - including his wife and two sons - were supportive, some personal training clients had "lost faith" that he could do his job properly.

Dyble credits two key changes with his recovery - taking up Brazilian jujitsu and discovering others with a similar story to share.

He took the martial art up last year, as an alternative way to exercise, and said the "camaraderie and the friendships" he developed had helped his recovery.

"I've always been a big sporting guy and going to jujitsu has been a revelation," he said, adding that he felt it challenged him without causing additional strain.

After reading testimonials of others living with heart disease as part of his counselling, he was encouraged to share his own experience.

For the British Heart Foundation's 65th anniversary, Dyble's story is the inspiration behind one of 65 red benches installed in UK towns, as a tribute to those with cardiovascular conditions.

Dyble added that although he wished he had taken family history into account and got himself checked sooner, he felt very lucky.

"You are going to face some challenges, and you are going to face that stigma of people thinking that's you done and dusted," he said.

"But there are ways around it and you've just got to take a breath, stay calm and look on the positive side of things."

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