Skip to main content

Matt’s marathon led to an unfortunate diagnosis

45-year-old Auckland-based Matt has always been the outdoorsy, active type. He never thought he’d be affected by heart disease. But when taking part in a marathon he began to feel worryingly unwell.

When his heart started feeling ‘all over the place’ during a marathon run, Matt made an urgent appointment with a cardiologist. 

“I was lucky to have insurance, so I was referred very quickly,” he explains. “And I’m glad I was because they found an aortic aneurysm.”

An aortic aneurysm is when a section of the aorta wall is damaged, causing it to bulge or swell. When an aortic aneurysm is small it doesn’t usually cause problems, but when it grows too large it can be very dangerous. The biggest risk it holds is that it can lead to an aortic dissection or aortic rupture – both life-threatening conditions that need to be treated with emergency surgery. 

“They immediately told me to stop running because it could cause the aneurysm to get worse and cause more damage,” says Matt. “I was booked in for surgery to repair the damaged part of my aorta but ended up getting much more than I expected.” 

During his surgery, it was discovered that Matt needed to have his aortic valve replaced with a mechanical alternative. 

“That was just one of the surprises post-surgery,” he laughs. “The biggest one was the complete heart block.” 

Complete, or third-degree, heart block is an emergency where the heart is unable to effectively pump blood out into the body. The main treatment for this is the insertion of a pacemaker. 

Matt was shocked. “I did not expect to need a pacemaker in my early forties,” he says. “I thought I would only need a week or two to recover initially, but I ended up needing six weeks off work.” 

“It was a long, hard road back. You completely underestimate the mental trauma an event like that can cause,” he continues. “And I had to rely on so many people during my recovery – I couldn’t be left alone. It felt like I was losing my independence.”

Because Matt lived alone, his partner and his mum took turns staying with him and helping by driving him to his appointments. He also has two teenage sons who live with him part time, and the ordeal took a toll on everyone. 

“It was pretty scary for the kids,” he explains. “To see me go from being very fit and running marathons to barely being able to walk up the stairs. I live in a three-story townhouse so even getting around my home became difficult. I had to sleep a lot.” 

Despite the challenges Matt was facing, it was heartwarming for him to see his friends and family come together to help him on his recovery. 

“People cooked food for me to keep in the freezer and popped in to check how I was doing,” he says. “While it was scary for everyone, they really helped me during a rough time.” 

Having experienced his heart event completely out of the blue, Matt now feels strongly about raising awareness and supporting vital heart research. 

“The more research we do and the more we can inform New Zealanders, the better chances we have at intercepting heart disease before it’s too late,” he says. “The more stories we share in the Big Heart Appeal, the more money is raised, and the more lives we can save.”