World Heart Day – Stuart’s story

Stuart Gordon was only 24 years of age when he suffered a heart attack, after sustaining an injury during a football game. After some tests, Stuart learned he had a blocked artery and underwent surgery to implant stents.

For years everything was going well for Stuart and he continued to be active however out of the blue in 2016 he suffered heart failure, which resulted in Stuart being fitted with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) – a small device which can treat people with dangerously abnormal heart rhythms.

After further episodes of heart failure, Stuart was referred for a heart ablation to see what was going on inside his heart. Despite this, Stuart continued to experience heart failure, but the ICD kept him alive.

Finally in 2023 Stuart was referred to Newcastle for another heart ablation, this time exploring both inside and outside of his heart. This exploration revealed scar tissue which was removed. This was good news for Stuart and since then, he continues to make good progress!

Stuart says: “I have always been active but I felt apprehensive about getting back into exercise, following the health scares and surgeries. Cardiac rehab really helped to build my confidence in getting back into physical activities as everything was done in a controlled environment under the guidance of cardiac specialists.

“I was the referred to PARS at South Lake Leisure Centre and the programme has been a life-saver in helping me to progress to independent exercise. Now I can go to the gym and work out a few times a week, and this has been brilliant for my health.”

Click here to find out more about PARS.