‘I was only 46, very lean, and very fit. I’ve never smoked, I wasn’t carrying any weight’ – Co Down man’s shock at suffering heart attack

Despite riding a bike thousands of miles a year, climbing mountains, running and sailing boats, one Co Down man has described shock of suffering a heart attack aged 46.

Richard Ross from Moneyreagh, an avid racing biker and runner, began experiencing a “very sharp, jabbing pain in my chest” while out cycling.

“I thought at first it was indigestion as I had eaten around an hour before I started cycling, but the pain just kept getting worse,” he said.

“I have undertaken first aid courses for years and know the symptoms of most conditions, but never thought that this would be heart trouble.”

Richard is speaking out about his experience to mark Men’s Health Week 2024 from June 10-16, which aims to encourage men to share their health stories.

He is also hoping to raise support for Northern Ireland Chest Heart & Stroke (NICHS).

Being told he had suffered a heart attack was “an enormous shock to me and everyone who knew me”, said Richard.

“I think it was even a shock to the doctors in the hospital,” he added.

“I was only 46, very lean, and very fit. I’ve never smoked, I wasn’t carrying any weight at all and was only about three quarters of stone heavier than when I left school.”

He was later told the likely cause of his attack was high cholesterol.

“There are heart-related issues on both sides of the family, so even though I was riding a bike thousands of miles a year, climbing mountains, running, and sailing boats, my cholesterol was going to build up and there is nothing I could have done to prevent it,” he said.

“Even with the heart-related issues in my family, no-one has ever had a heart attack or any other cardiac event below the age of 65.

“Doctors believe that the cause of mine was polygenetic, a bad mix of genes.”

Following his health battle, Richard now delivers talks to other patients involved in programmes delivered by NICHS.

“Other conditions such as cancer have so many different types of charities in this country working on that one illness, but for heart we have basically only one – NICHS,” he said.

“The issue is massive, and the care and advice for patients and family members that the charity offers is so important which is why I wanted to get involved.”

Fidelma Carter from the charity said: “Men’s Health Week serves as a timely reminder of the importance of addressing and supporting men’s health concerns.

“We would urge men across Northern Ireland to take stock of their health and NICHS will be running a number of initiatives to support this.”