A year of weight training helped decrease the size of my heart – a sign that the exercise helped

Heraldo Russell, 72, a retired researcher, lives in London

I wasn’t aware of a seismic shift in my health. I was just finding it harder and harder to do the simplest of things. I would walk half a mile and feel exhausted and short of breath or climb the stairs and be gasping for air.

It was so frustrating as I’d always been really fit – I used to jog a lot and go to the gym. But one night, in 2017, I was lying in bed and my breathing felt like it was using little pockets of air, rather than the normal fluid inhalation, and I felt something in my chest go “pop”.

It prompted me to go to the GP, who referred me to a specialist. I was told that I had a leaky aortic valve and a rapidly expanding heart, which was life threatening. It was horrible to hear – I thought, “oh my god, I’m hanging by a very thin thread here; I could have died at any moment”.

My consultant surgeon recommended open heart surgery as soon as possible. I had the surgery, which was fairly brutal – they have to cut through the sternum to get to the heart – and then I had to have rehab, which was hard; at my age healing takes a long time.

I started with group rehab classes – little aerobic exercises, which I found relatively strenuous at first. I couldn’t drive for two years – because of the operation – so I got myself a bike and started cycling to the shops, and even to the gym to start doing weights again. My body started to get stronger, and I could walk for much longer without having to stop and rest.

After a year, my surgeon said that my heart had begun to decrease in size – it was a sign that the exercise was helping. He told me that, whatever I was doing, I needed to keep it up. On the one hand it feels like a huge relief not to have the weight of a fatal heart disease hanging over my head, but in practical terms, just being fit enough to walk up the stairs without gasping for breath and getting back to the gym and socialising makes me feel like the old me again.

My workout week

I cycle to and from the shops and go to the gym, sometimes three times a week, to lift light weights and use the treadmill to walk. I have some dumbbells that I use at home, too.

What I eat in a day

Breakfast: Omelette with chicken, then some baked beans and fried plantain on the side. Then two Weetabix and some warm oat milk.

Lunch: Red pea soup with diced chicken, sweet potato, lots of veg and spices.

Dinner: Salmon steak with rice and spinach.

Lifestyle aids

Carbs: Yes, I eat carbs including sweet potato, rice and plantain.

Caffeine: I only drink decaffeinated tea; I make a big pot of boiled ginger tea to drink, too.

Alcohol: Sometimes I have a drink when I socialise, but I’m not a big drinker.

Sleep: As long as I exercise, I sleep well.

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