A question has been muttered... studies found... a rant!

In the halls of where I work...

 Quietly whispered... 

 A question is asked...

Passing from ear to ear... 

 And then reaches one of my friends.... 

 And they laugh... 

 The question?

"Should Paul be doing this? What about his heart?"

 And my friends laugh; not because they don't worry, not because they think I'm in anyway sane... But because they've seen the progress, watched the miles tick over, heard my tales of my running misadventures, seen the photos of me running in all of the parts of the UK.

And my friends look the mutterers in the eye, and smile "Paul knows what he can do and when to stop".

 And I do... 

 And all being well that will be on the steps of Nottingham Castle, Sunday afternoon/evening.

I'm not Superman, I'm not even Iron Man, I am me.  

Me... 

The confidence the runs this year have given me has to be remembered... 

The PBs at every distance up to marathon... 

The successful brutalisers - I didn't know I could run 2 half marathons in 2 days... 

The fact that so many of you have followed my madness... And seem to have enjoyed my blogs and tales of my life... helps, helps a great deal. 

Running is a lonely business, and knowing that that loneliness has a purpose makes it a lot easier to manage (and yes I know its probably the only time I genuinely get to myself, but its not a community activity;-))

And now the studies and my rant... 

I found this study online:



Clinical practice: the effect of obesity in children with congenital heart disease.
 
(European Journal Of Pediatrics 2012 Aug; Vol. 171 (8), pp. 1145-50)

It says that over 25% of children with CHD are overweight or obese... Over a quarter!!!

That means all the usual stuff is coming along - the diabetes,  hypertension and so... Throw in on top of that as kids we often need (and then get the taste for) high calorie foods and have exercise restrictions placed on us.

 Woo Hoo - what a delightful time bomb!

 The guidelines are out there, probably not perfect but they say up front in the abstract "While all patients with CHD can participate and benefit from physical activity and exercise, those with specific lesions or complications may require counselling regarding precautions and recommendations."

All patients with CHD can participate and benefit from physical activity and exercise...  

 That doesn't mean all of us can run marathons, doesn't say we should - it does say that just like the rest of the population. we benefit from doing something.

 And that something can be pretty much anything - like dancing?  Go Dance! Waltz, cha-cha, disco whatever! Like  shopping - walk around the shops! Don't feel like anything that active?  How about baking bread?  Kneading is great stress relief!

 The second part is important too - those with specific lesions or complications may require counselling regarding precautions and recommendations. 

 Yup - go check with your doctor! Ask them where you (or your child) fits into:


Recommendations for physical activity, recreation sport, and exercise training in paediatric patients with congenital heart disease
by Takken et al (2012)

European Journal of Preventive Cardiology vol. 19 no. 5 1034-1065


I know all about gaining extra issues to go with my Fallots; I've been obese, I am diabetic.  When I was a kid and teen I wasn't allowed to play much sports and exercise became a fear factor.  The rules have changed as I have aged, and often its been down to me to find it out.

Nowhere (that I've found) are their guidelines for a type II diabetic with congenital heart on endurance exercise... That's why I do check my plans with my cardiologist and diabetes team... Often its about how I feel, and down to  where I started this blog - knowing what I can do and when to stop.  

 So my friends; some of you will have read this and thought I'm back on my standard Quixotian rant about exercise and those of us with CHD, some will have read the quarter overweight and obese and been as horrified as I am, and some may just be thinking - Paul's running 50km on Sunday... That's worth a few quid - http://www.justgiving.com/fallotsrunner

 TTFN

 Paul

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