My Heart & Mind with Sallie Crawley - Life after a Heart Attack or Cardiac Surgery
You survived the heart attack, cardiac surgery, or cardiac arrest, but now what? Life after a heart event can feel overwhelming, lonely, and uncertain. Your body may be healing, but your mind and emotions are still catching up.
Friends say you’re lucky to be alive, and you know you are. But inside, you’re dealing with fear, exhaustion, and grief. You’ve been given a second chance, but you don’t know how to make the most of it. Your confidence is shaken, your energy is low, and no one really talks about how recovery is more than just medication and exercise.
That’s where My Heart & Mind with Sallie Crawley comes in — the podcast designed specifically for people recovering from a heart attack, heart surgery, cardiac arrest, or living with heart disease. You’ll get emotional support, mindset tools, and practical strategies to help you rebuild your life - one breath, one step, one day at a time.
Unlike medical podcasts that focus on clinical facts, My Heart & Mind is about the emotional and mental rehab you didn’t know you needed. Each episode blends Sallie’s personal experience as a heart patient with expert tips, inspiring interviews, guided visualisations, and real talk about how to manage fatigue, fear, and the inner critic.
Sallie Crawley is a heart attack survivor, cardiac coach, and certified practitioner in mind-body wellbeing. She understands firsthand the rollercoaster of emotions that come after a cardiac event, and she’s helped hundreds of people navigate recovery with more hope, clarity, and self-compassion.
Whether you’re newly diagnosed, weeks, months or even years into your recovery, or maybe supporting a loved one through theirs, this podcast will help you feel less alone and more in control. Tune in to learn how to manage your energy, shift your mindset, and find joy and purpose again - so you can live not just longer, but happier and better.
🎧 Follow now to start healing from the inside out.
My Heart & Mind with Sallie Crawley - Life after a Heart Attack or Cardiac Surgery
Interview with Sara Bushnell - Having a heart attack in a work meeting far from home and an important discovery
Sara was fit, healthy and ate a good diet. She had been experiencing regular headaches and stress, at one point thought her blood pressure machine must have been broken.
Living in Bristol, she left for a meeting in London, had an early telephone meeting at the station. Then she went on to her business meeting that was the reason for travelling. She has a sense of dread, and indigestions, but didn’t want to draw attention to herself. She continued all day until the end of the meeting when a friend mentioned she didn’t look too well at all.
She was taken to hospital but they really didn’t think she was a candidate for a heart attack so they were focused on bringing her blood pressure down which was sky high at that time. Sara was indeed having a heart attack caused by a blood clot. She was in disbelief, how could she be having a heart attack she has two young children.
At first, she was so poorly that the distance from home didn’t matter but as time passed and she felt better she missed her partner and children. It was the first time she had been away from them and was grateful to the technology that allowed her to normalise what was happening for her young family.
Sara sees her heart attack as being quite fortuitous as whilst she did have an angioplasty, she didn’t have any stents but they did find she had a bicuspid valve. She feels lucky that this was found while she was young as she can keep herself healthy and fit with exercise along with managing her stress levels. If it hadn’t been found until later in her life her prognosis might be different.
Going back to work can be complicated and worrying, Sara tells me how it was for her and what she found difficult.
We talk about how at first Sara was feeling okay during her recovery but how some 6 months later she is finding things a little more difficult emotionally and has experienced bouts of tears.
She gives her tips and tricks about how she stays happy and buoyant, and interestingly it includes her favourite shot glass.
She also talks about a book she found published by the British Heart Foundation, and how it helped her explain her heart attack to her children. Make sure you listen to find out more.
BHF My Dad’s Heart Attack Free Downloadable Book
Read the complete article here Podcast & Blog Page.
Getting to know Sallie Crawley
Survivorship after a heart attack or cardiac surgery can be challenging. You can rebuild the puzzle of your life and thrive. It takes one beat at a time and the support of people who have had similar experiences. You are not alone. Join me and other hearties in the My Heart & Mind Community, you'll get a warm welcome. You can also visit my website www.myheartandmind.co.uk.
Disclaimer
The information contained within my podcast and on my website is for general information purposes only. It is not official health advice and is not intended to be used as such. Any action you take upon the information you find on this website is strictly at your own risk. If you have any questions relating to specific health concerns or you think you may be suffering from a medical condition, you must consult a medical professional immediately. You must also consult a medical professional before making any changes to your normal lifestyle habits. You can read my full disclaimer here.