A Dublin dad has spoken of his horror after he went to bed one night and woke up in ICU a month later.
Kiltipper man, Alan Ferron, was rushed to hospital after he suffered a heart attack in bed.
The 36-year-old said the pain felt like someone was sitting on his chest.
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He said: "When I got [to hospital], I collapsed on the floor and went into cardiac arrest.
“After being revived, I had another cardiac arrest, and was then fitted with a stent.”
While in hospital, Alan contracted pneumonia and due to the condition of his heart, his family was told that he had a very low chance of survival.
Doctors thought he wouldn't even make it through the first night in ICU.
Alan added: "I have hazy memories of waking up at times during that month, but I couldn’t breathe on my own so I needed intubation and ventilation."
But Alan managed to pull through just in time to sit his fitness instructor exams a few weeks later which he passed successfully.
The ordeal has pushed Alan to make huge changes to his lifestyle.
He said: "I need to be careful – if I’m leaving the house I usually need to rest beforehand, as the fatigue can hit you hard.
"I exercise regularly, either in the gym, or walking or cycling and I take medication each day and monitor the amount of fluid I drink. In recent months I had an ICD implanted in my chest which gives me great peace of mind.
"Once the ICD is settled in and my 20-month-old daughter is in the creche in a few months I hope to go back to work as a fitness instructor."
Alan says a private Facebook group called "Irish Heart Foundation’s Heart Support Network" helped him through his recovery.
He said: "It helped me understand that it’s not all doom and gloom, and it helped to get me back on my feet – a great help at a time when I needed it.
"I would definitely encourage people to engage with the supports, to talk it through and not to bottle things up."
Dr Angie Brown, the Medical Director of Irish Heart Foundation, said: "It’s important to note that heart failure can be prevented. Reducing your risk factors for heart disease will help prevent heart failure, such as not smoking, controlling high blood pressure, eating healthy food, maintaining a healthy weight, staying physically active and drinking moderately.
"Heart failure generally responds very well to a combination of medicines and lifestyle changes and some people may need operations, pacemakers or similar devices.
"With modern treatment, people with heart failure can lead long, quality lives."
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