Arthur

Arthur was extremely passionate about his work, although stressful his role as a Senior Manager at British Steel was very fulfilling. This position required him to be success driven and committed. Arthur went on to retire aged 62, however he still felt he had more to give his career and returned to work within this industry but now utilising his skills as a Mechanical Engineer, he stayed in this role until he decided to officially retire aged 73.

During this time other than his golfing, he was not hugely active, his health was declining slowly. The decline had been so gradual that it was not so obvious. Eventually symptoms increased and Arthur was diagnosed with heart failure; heart failure means that the heart is unable to pump blood around the body properly. It usually happens because the heart has become too weak or stiff. Heart failure does not mean your heart has stopped working. It means it needs some support to help it work better. It is a long-term condition which cannot usually be cured, but the symptoms can often be controlled for many years. Symptoms include-

·       breathlessness after activity or at rest

·       feeling tired most of the time and finding exercise exhausting

·       feeling lightheaded or fainting

·       swollen ankles and legs

Arthur describes his diagnosis as affecting his mood and feeling uncertain about how the condition would affect him day to day, how much could he push himself? What activities would be safe or beneficial?

Arthur’s symptoms were controlled until around 1 year ago when he contracted the flu, this resulted in his chest filling with fluid and a subsequent 5- day hospital stay. Following this he met with his Heart Failure Nure for a review where he suggested that he would like to consider exercise. His nurse recommended MorphFit and by his own admissions Arthur ‘has never looked back’.

Arthur was enrolled in MorphFit’s Heart of the Matter Programme funded by Heart Research UK. Sessions include gentle exercise, lifestyle guidance and peer support. Having completed the programme and increased his health and wellbeing Arthur took on a second session with MorphFit within the higher intensity circuits class. He enjoys attending both classes weekly and notes that he has grown in strength and confidence. He notes that he can do so much more since joining. Arthur also finds the sessions informative and helpful in terms of asking the specialists one to one advice. Whilst Arthur has a very active social life, he has met many people through the sessions and finds it useful to chat with people who have similar conditions.

Arthur commends the onsite team who he says put in a great amount of effort to deliver the classes. He feels that the instructors have the great ability to guide and support attendees whilst encouraging self-management and instilling confidence.  

“I really enjoy it, I’m keeping up a standard and improving my health, MorphFit changes attitudes towards conditions like this”.