Tributes paid to Pat Coyle, who died during Tour of Flanders sportive

Have to say i'm in total agreement with the comments posted on here

I'm now 30 months on from my heart episode. In early 2013 i experienced chest pain whilst riding home from work. The pain subsided, but it occured sporadically over the next few months, which i put down to the cold weather etc etc. Eventually, I forced myself to go to the doc, who immediately put me on cholesterol & blood pressure tablets.
Long story short, was booked in for a myocardial perfusion in Oct 2013, but had a heart attack in late July, the result of which was a stent, then quadruple heart bypass surgery in late September. I was half expecting bypass surgery to be the end result of my illness, as the stent hadn't fixed the angina completely.

I had convinced myself that my going slower was all due to my getting older (was 49 when this all happened) but didn't want to face that so kept pushing myself, which i now know was self-defeating. There is a history of heart disease in my family (grandfather), i was the one who copped it this time. But life goes on and makes you stronger (and wiser).

Nowadays, i still cycle, but do less (and attend a gym class at the local hospital 2 evenings a week) but am enjoying it so much more. Although i like to go fast occasionaly, it's no longer the reason i'm on the bike anymore. if i don't have a good ride, it isn't the end of the world, whereas before....

Am also much more aware of people when i think they might be overdoing it; having been there, i have no intention of going back, i just wish there was some way these people could experience it without all the other bits that accompany this type of illness.

My heartfelt condolences to this gentleman's family.

Simon

I hate to say I (and I'm not trying to be confrontational), as one who has looked death in the eyes I do not believe there is a comfort in saying he died whilst doing something he loved.  I will do everything possible not to "die" again when I'm cycling!  

And by the way there is no white light, and try as I did, I couldn't get Joe Strummer to come out the gates to welcome me in

I don't think it is sad.  We all die in the end.  And Mr Coyle died doing what he loved.

My Dad died of a heart attack when he was 72- considerably older than Mr Coyle, yes, but he was very fit, very strong, and still as sharp as a tack.  Ostensibly he had years left to live.  His first grandchild was born 2 weeks after he died.  Would he have loved to see his grandchildren.  Of course he would.  Would he have liked to have lived longer.  Yes.  But, given a choice between a sudden painless death after what for him was almost a perfect day (all day sailing), but taken too soon, or a withering old age, I believe I know which he would have chosen.

My heart goes out to Mr Coyle's family, of course.

Sad news indeed

I have been contemplating this issue for a while.

Given the availability of less invasive, but nevertheless fairly accurate options a cycling friend of mine (Nuclear Medicine / Nuclear Cardiology Physician & myself as a medical specialist ) feel that we will shout ourselves a CTCA (CT coronary angiogram) as we turn 50 seeking any underlying asymptomatic CAD (coronary artery disease).  

Vascular risk factors (eg BP smoking Lipids diabetes family history)are just that.

Asymptomatic but substantial CAD does occur.

Worth considering & discussing with your GP

Sad news and I agree with the other posters - get a full MOT done. I've noticed that my max HR has dropped almost 10bpm in the last couple of months despite no significant difference in the amount of riding I'm doing. Also consistently a few percent off my best times on regular routes. Off to see the doc as a result of this news, particularly as there's a long history of heart disease in my family (which is part of why I'm cycling in the first place!)

Rip pat. Sad. Hope I go that way

I should of course say, huge sympathy for Pat's family.  Really very sad.  There but for the grace of the NHS go I.

Excellent advice @ungulate.  Many thanks.

@ryewheeler: 'fraid you're absolutely right - coronary heart disease can be very hard to spot, cardiologists use risk assessment tables based on BP, cholesterol, smoking status, family history etc, but still the unexpected can happen. You're most likely to get a cardiac CT or MRI rather than an angio as a first step.

As a medic I'd encourage anyone to talk to their Gp if they have ANY doubts about chest discomfort etc, even today's NHS has excellent chest pain clinics for this kind of thing.

I'm afraid that I have a similar experience to re-count. I took up cycling again when I was in my mid 40s and in the last few years took on some very heavy duty endurance events (100 mile, 12 hour and 24 hour TTs, the Maratona, Tour of Flanders, etc).  But before I really upped the intensity I did indeed go to see the doc as I was worried about my family's history of heart disease (uncles and grand parents). I had my BP and cholestrol checked which I was told were fine. I was also told that my family history wasn't that worrying (issues with parents and siblings would start to cause concern). Non smoker, light drinker with good diet (largely vegitarian) and healthy weight - nothing to really worry about. But then sure enough, when I was 53 I had a heart attack shortly after getting back from a fairly hard ride. Two stents required and some really excellent care by the NHS (we need to man the barricades for that institution). When I was in hospital, the doctors were heard to ask "what did he do to deserve this?" Answer "Nothing!"  My conclusion was that I must have some underlying heriditary issue and I was also under insane amounts of stress at the time.  The moral of my story? If you think that there's a bit more to worry about ( any sort of family history, stress, past bad habits) push for some more rigorous testing as BP and cholestrol tests alone obviously don't pick these things up. ECG and ultra sound scans might do something. The trouble is that I think that the only real answer is to have an angiogram which will actually see narrowed arteries, etc - but the docs don't like doing this on a elective basis as the procedure involves pumping you full of nasties that arent good for kidneys, etc. Sorry to go into so much depth but I think it's important that people know as much as possible about this subject. I'm sure that it's much more desirable to spot a problem and have a pre-emptive angioplasty rather than actually have an attack.  Any attack causes some sort of damage to the heart muscle.  i've recovered pretty well from my attack and have been told that I'm fixed and can go back to cycling pretty much as before.  But I have to say that I only feel confident to do some light riding and may never go back to racing.  Hope people find this useful.

So sad.  I suffered a heart attack in late 2010 following a 2o year cycling and Ironman triathlon career aged 52. I survived thanks to the NHS, and I am cycling again, although at a lower intensity.  I was suffering many of the symptions for a long time prior to the attack, but I would not acknoweldge this as I thought I was super fit. My Doctor also confessed afterwards that I was one of his 5% of patients he would never have put in the risk group, and unfortunately didn't think to check out the possibility of a blocked artery.  I put my  cycling slowing down to the usual cyclists "putting on a few extra kilos".

What I am trying to say, whilst still showing respect to the deceased gentleman, is that as we get older we need to get our bodies checked out by a doctor on a regular basis. Obviously I do not know if this poor chap had a regular medical.  In many other countries you cannot join a sports club, or enter a sportive/race without a Doctors certificate.

I often hear many of my Club mates talking about their planned latest massive feats and where before I would be impressed, now a large part of me questions the stress they are putting their bodies through, unchecked. So, get down your doctors and get a cholestrol, blood pressure and general MOT.  You know it makes sense - really do it.