How easy it is to overdo things?

[Carlton green]

I met an old acquaintance at the weekend and was shock to hear that she’d had the dreaded knock on the door by the Constabulary to advise her that her husband was dead. He’d been invited out cycling by old pals and had unwittingly and suddenly broken either his heart or a linked blood vessel, prior to the misfortune he’d been caring for aged relatives (who died a month or two before him) and struggling through the lockdown.

Pre-covid I was chatting to a local who’s husband had been a keen and lifelong sportsman, she similarly had a rather life changing and unexpected knock on the door by the Constabulary.

It does make you wonder about how easy it is to overdo things and how disastrous, terminal even, the consequences can be.

[Jdsk]

NHS advice: "Physical activity guidelines for older adults":
https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/e ... er-adults/
which includes what to do "if you have not exercised for some time".

Jonathan

[Jdsk]

... and suddenly broken either his heart or a linked blood vessel...

That sounds as if it could be a reference to an aortic aneurysm. There is a national screening programme and I'd recommend anyone who receives an invitation to take it up. And if you have received one but didn't take it up because of the outbreak to do so now. And if you haven't received an invitation but think you should have to contact the local team.

NHS advice: "Abdominal aortic aneurysm screening":
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/abdominal ... screening/

Jonathan

[simonineaston]

That's a useful link, J Thanks. Have had my aorta scanned
In my case a combination of C19 reg.s / lockdown / wfh for the last eighteen months of my last job had an exceedingly negative effect on my well-being and it has been a bit of shock finding that I couldn't just snap back to how things used to be.
An Apple watch has helped (and of course, other fitness wearables are available!) in that it monitors my activy, reports back on it and occasionally nags me to do some more!
ps must dash as have appointment with the hypertension nurse...

[axel_knutt]

I've had numerous echos. My aorta was normal in 2009 & 2012, but the most recent ones are missing from my records.

[Jdsk]

Thanks to whoever changed the Subject. Much better.

Jonathan

[Jdsk]

I've had numerous echos. My aorta was normal in 2009 & 2012, but the most recent ones are missing from my records.

I always dread these conversations, but... which country and which records are those, please?

Thanks

Jonathan

[Carlton green]

Thanks to whoever changed the Subject. Much better.

Jonathan

The original heading was intentional a bit ‘bald’ because members here should be aware (or made aware) that some people literally walk out of their front door, wave to the Mrs as they ride off and the next time she sees her husband is during a viewing at the undertakers - that’s just what happened to my acquaintance. This is a serious and normally either ignored or hidden subject, however some people are literally - if unwittingly - killing themselves whilst cycling and being wonderfully fit is not necessarily a protection.

[Cugel]

When such situations as that described are relayed as "preventable" - and although I agree that some might be - my initial thought is always in the form of a question an ex-soldier friend was prone to ask us all as we cycled about: "Do you want to live forever"? He meant to suggest that life is full of risks and that one of them will eventually result in fatality. Moreover, this is unavoidable so that trying to avoid this fate can be pointless or lead to worse forms of degradation.

Perhaps it's a matter of how better knowledge of such risks will improve the possibly saved life? In some cases, longer life will also be good life. In others, longer life might mean that a goodly portion of it will be spent in suffering and misery, for the alive-but-barely one; but also for those who must tend to him or her.

Myself, I end up feeling that if I drop dead of cycling hard, that's a preferable end to a long and lingering degradation, for me and also for those left behind, even if one or two will grieve for a while.

But I know some feel it almost a duty to stay alive forever, if they could, no matter the circumstances. For some it's a religious thing; for some a fear of death itself; for others a feeling of obligation to loving family. A difficult thing to contemplate and decide on.

To take the utterly selfish point of view - once you're dead the matter becomes irrelevant to you, since that you is no more.

Cugel

[David2504]

The original heading was intentional a bit ‘bald’ because members here should be aware (or made aware) that some people literally walk out of their front door, wave to the Mrs as they ride off and the next time she sees her husband is during a viewing at the undertakers - that’s just what happened to my acquaintance. This is a serious and normally either ignored or hidden subject, however some people are literally - if unwittingly - killing themselves whilst cycling and being wonderfully fit is not necessarily a protection.

But that could happen to anyone at anytime not necessarily involving cycling or any strenuous physical activity. Could happen driving to the shops, walking the dog, going to the pub.

[Carlton green]

But that could happen to anyone at anytime not necessarily involving cycling or any strenuous physical activity. Could happen driving to the shops, walking the dog, going to the pub.

You’re quite correct in what you say there however that wasn’t the intent of the original post.

It is important that people do not inadvertently exercise beyond what their body can sustain without terminal damage and that they understand that just because they believe themselves to be fit and in sound enough health for what they are doing doesn’t guarantee that they are. In the case of my acquaintance’s husband it’s pretty clear that he died whilst cycling, his death was virtually instant and that due in part to long term parental care during the lockdown he wasn’t in perfect health. He inadvertently over did things, the consequences were fatal and his cycling companions will live with and wonder about his death …

Virtually everybody associates cycling with an activity that improves health and IMHO there are many good reasons and much data to confirm that view. However cycling is not without any dangers and virtually no one associates cycling with a physical activity that could (by a triggered catastrophic failure within your body) kill you, similarly other exercise must have hazards too. Normally we’re all fine with whatever exercise we take, sometimes that’s by good luck and sometimes that’s by good enough judgment, and then there’s the time when some Constable has to inform a wife that she’s now a widow.

[millimole]

Talking to pals of the same age as myself - 67 - it's pretty common for your 'head age' and your 'body age' to be out of synch.

My head thinks I'm 35 but if I try to exercise like my 35 year old self, my body soon reminds me of my physical age.

I've had a trio of setbacks over the last 15 years which have knocked back my fitness. My general lack of stamina shows up when cycling or working on my allotment mainly.
Two were physical, but the other was more complex.

The most recent was a very mild dose of covid which has left me chronically tired and hopefully that'll pass. The first was severe depression leading to retirement, which was when I stopped commuting by bike, and lost all my previous fitness.

The other, more difficult one, was when an adult family member developed a very severe personality disorder, virtually overnight.
They were self-harming and attempting suicide on a weekly basis.
This was a huge strain on our side of the family, but over two long years they got the treatment required, and have returned back to work, and they are doing really well with support from us and the NHS.

It showed us that life can be taken away from any of us, at any stage, for many reasons, but also that positivity is a key in the way we need to live our lives.

[Bsteel]

It is important that people do not inadvertently exercise beyond what their body can sustain without terminal damage and that they understand that just because they believe themselves to be fit and in sound enough health for what they are doing doesn’t guarantee that they are.

Apart from the Aortic screening as suggested by Johnathon what is the action to ensure you stay beneath the point of terminal damage ?

[Cugel]

It is important that people do not inadvertently exercise beyond what their body can sustain without terminal damage and that they understand that just because they believe themselves to be fit and in sound enough health for what they are doing doesn’t guarantee that they are.

Apart from the Aortic screening as suggested by Johnathon what is the action to ensure you stay beneath the point of terminal damage ?

Some will just take a guess; or give in to a mild paranoia about the possibility of "overdoing it". I've had two friends who started to cycle but wouldn't go beyond a certain point because they'd convinced themselves it could cause them to have a heart attack, stroke or something similar should they, say, attempt to climb a hill and get out of breath. The basis of their worry was often some claptrap common in their social milieu, in which those addicted to overeating and drinking would find endless reasons to avoid exercise, many of which would be along the lines of, "It can kill you"!

Of course, it can kill you if you're over-eager to a ridiculous degree whilst also in a condition unlikely to be optimum for pushing your heart rate up to maximum. But these mildly paranoid fellows miss the underlying point that gradually getting fitter by gradually trying harder (and succeeding at it) will also be highly likely to act as a preventative to heart attacks, strokes et al. More of a preventative than sitting on the sofa eating Mucfud whilst supping at Fatduck bitter, at least.

It's very common to hear folk opine that they should avoid various forms of exertion because it gets them out of breath and they believe this is dangerous in itself. So they never do anything that makes them breathe hard. That attitude is what's going to shorten their lives, likely. And degrade that life on their way to the early grave.

Cugel

[axel_knutt]

Exercise is very good for you, in fact getting none at all is about as bad for you as smoking, but the benefits don't accrue without limit. People like to assume that if a bit of exercise is good, then more is better, but it isn't. There's a law of diminishing returns with the health benefits of exercise, and it only takes a relatively small amount to get most of the health benefit you're ever going to get.

Plotting the data from Arem & Gebel, it's easy to see why the ACSM & NICE exercise recommendations are set where they are, and they're in stark contrast to my own exercise levels as a cyclist: