Cardiac Athlete™ Spotlight: Graeme Sutton

Graeme Sutton was 50 years old before discovering he had a potentially life-threatening heart defect. Join us today as Graeme shares with Anna what it was like to discover that he had, not only a serious heart defect, but also a disease process which could cause him to have a stroke or die. Learn about how he had to handle this delicate situation and how he strove to regain his life and his passion for being a triathlete and even competing in an Ironman competition.Graeme Sutton has submitted an essay for the 2nd book in the Cardiac Athlete series by Lars Andrews. To purchase the first book in the series, go to this link (and you'll also help out Hearts Unite the Globe -- the nonprofit that provides this podcast free of charge to Listeners): https://smile.amazon.com/Cardiac-Athletes-Superheroes-Beating-Disease/dp/0993038905/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1505177810&sr=8-2&keywords=cardiac+athletes+lars+andrews

Transcript

spk_2:   0:05
to heart to heart with Anna. I am Anna Gorski, and I hope you've been enjoying this cardiac athletes spotlight Siri's as much as I have been. It has been so much fun. Laura's Andrews wrote a book called Cardiac Athletes, and he was actually a guest on my show some seasons ago. He is now gearing up to assemble cardiac athletes to featuring stories about athletes who have undergone cardiac procedures. Some of the athletes were born with congenital heart defects, and some have acquired heart disease. I've been enjoying interviewing all of these different athletes from all over the world, and today we have an international show which will be so much fun. So welcome to heart to heart with anagrams. Sutton. Thank you. Well, Grant, let's start first by telling us where you're located.

spk_0:   0:54
I'm in Mobile Australian, one of the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Australia suburb called Lash

spk_2:   1:00
Would. So we're down under today in heart to heart with Anna. Let's start off by having you tell us what your cardiac condition is.

spk_3:   1:09
E

spk_0:   1:11
didn't know I had a cardiac condition to about two and 1/2 years ago, and I discovered I had a bicuspid aortic valves. Andi, it got infected on because I was very fit and healthy person. Begin with it. Sort of got ignored until kind across this point.

spk_2:   1:29
How old were you when you discovered your head of bicuspid aortic valve?

spk_0:   1:33
Basically, I was 10 days before my birthday. I know. Actually, on my birthday I discovered actually within a job interview, and they sort of collapsed on wind up in an ambulance.

spk_2:   1:44
Oh, my goodness.

spk_0:   1:45
CR and they I couldn't work out. All I could say is, I feel rotten. I can't work out why. And they finally put a stethoscope to my chest. And I said, how long you had this movement for are basically said, What Mama and I said, You know what this is?

spk_2:   2:01
Wow. Okay, so were you 20 or 30 all. Oh, my goodness. You were 50 before you discovered you had a bicuspid aortic valve.

spk_0:   2:13
And like, you know, like I it was a fair, reasonably good AIDS group triathlete, sort of, you know, used to come in the top 10 of my age group and probably a 10% of God overall fields, even a 50. So there was no sign that my heart was defective is you could say all performance. My heart never stop me doing anything.

spk_2:   2:36
Great, Right. So what? Have you always been an athlete, Graham?

spk_0:   2:41
Well, not really, No. I used to be one of the sort of what would be called the nerdy group in high school and university. And then I think, about 29 I decided that had to be more to life than working in coming home.

spk_2:   2:57
Good for you.

spk_0:   2:58
Until I started swimming with the Masters Group, which I don't know if you have them in America, but they just sort of like I'm trying to get sort of adults to swim,

spk_2:   3:07
right? Yeah, we do have them. At least we have them in Texas. Yeah. Okay, so you started swimming. And if you ever get

spk_0:   3:17
a fan that both of those bad swimmers are thought all walls, you know, they end up in the fastest. Line it now. I never thought much more swimming, and someone sort of said, Are you want to try out with his triumph on coaches? Is starting a new season and do you want to join in? And I did in a sort of developed from there that sort of discovered that 29. I wasn't as bad as an athlete, as I thought.

spk_2:   3:42
Okay? And so in all of that time, did you ever have a physical? I mean, like an annual physical, even where the doctor might have listened to your heart?

spk_0:   3:50
Oh, probably about the same time I worked for as the researchers. Really? Well, a research chemist in senior research, chemist for a company called New Farm, which is a manufacturing. Well, I call that I could kept cultural chemicals, but what's basically a euphemism for pissed aside, So they, as a matter of course, always put us through a tests every year to make most even illegally cover themselves. And she would call me guess. And it wasn't any sign There was anything wrong.

spk_2:   4:26
Okay, so you've lived five decades with a bike husband. Aortic valve. Perfectly fine to the point where you're competing in triathlons, which is very hard on the body. And then you can laugh

spk_0:   4:39
and end to a fairly high level.

spk_2:   4:41
Right? Right. Yeah. You're in the top tier and then you collapse. That must have been terrifying for you. Yeah,

spk_0:   4:49
Waas Pretty. It was sort of a six month lead up that the infection started. And I think, what stood out because I had a dental appointment. They cleaned my teeth on that teeth Cleaning meant that some of the bacteria from my math got into my bloodstream, attaching itself the heart

spk_2:   5:08
rate straight to that valve that was having problems year

spk_3:   5:11
on. And I was having

spk_0:   5:12
six months of apparently unrelated medical issues, and it was I basically wasn't training very well. And all of a sudden I felt old. I thought maybe it just said on 15 off Suddenly, you know, are wearing apt. The conditions slowly got worse, and I found, I think, a week beforehand. I found that time I won't 800 majors the train and they need another 202 hours and sleep to recover. Wow, house sweats and done, you know. But I had a dick that I was diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis three months before

spk_2:   5:49
business. It's very painful from what are here. I've never had it happen, but I have friends who have had it happen, and they say it's extremely painful.

spk_0:   5:59
But anyway, the doctor just Lister's unprovoked Indian investigators, and it wasn't until the hospital ladies. It was probably the are bacterial colony on your old snapping off.

spk_2:   6:11
How? Wow.

spk_0:   6:14
Well, lucky you didn't have a stroke.

spk_2:   6:15
Yeah, you were lucky you didn't have a stroke. So I imagine they hospitalized. You been started giving you massive antibiotics?

spk_0:   6:24
Yes. Say, ah pumped me full of i V antibiotics. And I did a toe. I think you call that a T in the U. S. Which is a trans esophageal. Um, cardio Graham. Yeah. Huge growth was length of the growth was a cz Long is the diameter of the vote. Oh, my gosh. And it got past the cardiology department, and I've never seen a cardio surgeon panic you not at me, but he had to be on the table tomorrow. Your extreme stroke risk. You know, this has

spk_2:   7:01
to be fixed. Yeah, Yeah,

spk_0:   7:04
And that Well, and basically didn't happen the next day because it was a Sunday. But by Wednesday that day, they that actually forming problem conference and I operate on me, replaced evolve and cut out the infection and probably other things that I don't really need thio much What goes on, you know?

spk_2:   7:26
Wow. Now, were they able to do this trance catheter? Or was this an open heart procedure? Had to Oh, my goodness. That must have been terrifying for you. I didn't

spk_0:   7:39
Honestly, I My basic reaction is I don't want him to operate, but sharp rationally. Um, there wasn't a choice because it happened over two or three days. It wasn't any real time. Thio panic about it or develop port set would make you cannae corrections. Jeremy. Um,

spk_2:   7:59
no, I don't know, honey, cause I think I'd have been in periodic boat on with

spk_0:   8:05
I think thio because I was sort of sick, extremely seeking being sick for a long time, I sort of felt relief that they found something a second. The hospital staff was saying, Oh, you got endo card itis can, you know, like, Oh, we just got to give you antibiotics And this is the trait we're gonna give you. So it was all very young, be personal. There was no sort of

spk_2:   8:29
nobody else seemed to really upset about it because they'd see if a

spk_5:   8:35
heart to heart with Anna is a presentation of hearts, unite the globe and is part of the hug Podcast Network hearts unite the globe is a nonprofit organization devoted to providing resource is to the congenital heart defect community to uplift in power, enrich the lives of our community members. If you would like access to free resource, is pretending to the CHD community please visit our website at www congenital heart defects dot com for information about CHD, the hospitals that treat Children with CHD summer camps for CHD survivors and much, much more.

spk_1:   9:13
You are listening to heart to heart with Anna. If you have a question or comment that you would like to address our show, please send an email to Anna Dworsky at Anna at heart to heart with anna dot com. That's Anna at heart to heart with anna dot com Now back to heart to heart with them.

spk_2:   9:32
Okay, so you think you're getting antibiotics? You think that? Okay, now, finally they found it and they come back and say, Well, we're gonna have to cut you open. Did you have family there? Thio Be there by your side while you were going through a

spk_0:   9:46
whole lot. Sister lives in in the western suburbs of Melbourne, and she always hesitant to tell about I was in hospital, but she was the my medical emergency contact, so I felt I had to. Sure. And the reason while it's been nervous about telling her, is that she was going through big traded for cat liver and intestinal cancer.

spk_2:   10:11
Oh, my goodness and

spk_0:   10:13
talk. What? I don't want to trouble her. And, you know, I just stay away. If this is the infectious disease ward, you don't need to be here. Why on King Barry? But you came anyway.

spk_2:   10:22
Oh, what a sweet sister

spk_0:   10:25
here. And I'm not currently to two hours from now been in England,

spk_2:   10:33
So jeopardy longevity runs in your family if your parents were still alive and you're already in your fifties.

spk_0:   10:39
Well, to be honest, Thio strives healthcare system is fairly good.

spk_2:   10:43
So you were in tip top shape to go ahead and have this surgery. And then what happened after you had the surgery?

spk_0:   10:49
Well, I was in hospital for six days and, you know, like one of my questions is all my life is a triathlete was on, you know, it doesn't mean what you do is like trying to really good. I'm thinking I've been doing for years and it was a part of me, and I was thinking, Oh, God, this is over and all I remember I think one of the nurses came to me when I came out of that a seizure and said, Oh, you're a triathlete. I'm so proud of you And I said, I think I wasa triathlete. He said, What do you mean? I said, Well, then something like this happens. It sort of puts a damper on things said not, You'll be back toe I awhile. But you can get back to it if you want to, you know, do you?

spk_2:   11:35
Okay, well, good. That's the kind of person you needed to have talked to you after you came out from anesthesia. So tell me about your cardiac rehab.

spk_0:   11:44
It was basically a walking private for six weeks, the And to be quite honest, I wanted to walk up and down the corridor in the week that you're in hospital. And I remember the day Brick next time, and I I I see you. They woke me up and they may help me out of bed. Insisted I got out of bed, which was pretty cruel thing to do is get a tough line. My emotion fall it on, maybe breakfast sitting up and son had be moving the next day basically, and I was walking up the corridors, the hospital as I felt like it. No, I got home and they basically the walking program details least 15 minutes a day at the start. And that was rather slow. And some days, 15 minutes walk was quite honestly enough, you know? Like it,

spk_2:   12:33
right? Yeah.

spk_0:   12:36
For someone who done I'm and 12 months before you found 15 minute walk, and then you felt like I just wanna have a rest. Yeah, but by the end of six weeks, I think I was walking on our twice a day and fairly briskly. Wow. Ah, And then in Australia, when you have open heart surgery, they part of the program is I give you, send you off for what they call cardiac re had, which is a physio and a nutritionist. And so on the local hospitals that they basically guided me through and said, I can start riding a bike in about six weeks. You can start riding your bike down, just take things easy, and there's no restriction on the about a time. You d'oh anymore of exercise you do anymore. Just just take it easy. Just go easy. It is how you feel. At six weeks, the wound was healed enough. So I just used to go to the local pool, which is that 500 meters away. And I wasn't allowed to use my I'm so used to basically just getting kick right. Hyeon after 45 minutes just built and more than anything else because your home, it's just good to get out. Share enough. And if I don't? If you just get out to a pool when people see you're kicking quite off, Mel sort of not to you or say hello and Mike's talkto it was better than being

spk_2:   14:04
Yeah, you don't need to be cooped up. That's not good. It's not good for you mentally.

spk_0:   14:09
And, you know, even just doing things and making give you confidence, even even though I was a little thing, you know, it's not sure, absolutely, and also sold the Cadi I, uh, cardiologists at the hospital in about eight weeks, and I said, Are So can I start if I just start putting 32nd jogs into my walks on on the provide so that if something doesn't feel right, I'll stop doing and put aside for a few weeks. Is that okay with you? Because no one would tell me when I could start going running again. And she said, Yeah, that's sensible. Just that's how you should probably trading all the redhead from now. Yeah, and she put a restriction on white lifting. Just got a guest. I didn't want you across your chest again. And I started just training by herself on Guy Went back to work as I lost. God

spk_2:   15:03
has a life guard. So you went from not being able to swim with your arms, just kicking to being able to save people

spk_0:   15:13
goodbye about. I am probably two months all sweeping for an hour, and I was given do freestyle. And

spk_2:   15:23
that's a That's impressive. Graham. That's really impressive. Wow, it sounds like you went about it the best way you possibly Could you listen to your body? You listen to your doctors. You took it easy to begin with and you built yourself back up. So have you gone back to do a triathlon?

spk_0:   15:43
I did the sprint course. Siri's last summer. L A Summer and yes, I went okay. And that No, you know, the times were a bit slower than what I'd like that. I just said, Well, this is more of a confidence building to show that I can do it again. Absolutely. I think the biggest thing about getting back to it is that it's not. The heart's been given a clear. It sounds working wonderfully, but it's the fact that the cracked you open it basically destroys or you for But I did it. I did get quite well, you know. It's still coming. I think I was coming between 10 to 20th time lapse between 10 and 20. My eyes group must seize.

spk_2:   16:22
Wow, that's amazing even. And you have had that defamed thrombosis to deal with us. Well,

spk_0:   16:29
and I had me on blood thinners. Any wife, the 1st 6 weeks I shall write weeks or something. So that helped with Dick pain from Vice Issa's Well,

spk_2:   16:38
so what kind of valve did you get?

spk_0:   16:40
They put a poor side of pig's valve in in the end, I think, because it just all rights better. And I think it lasts longer because one of the issues about tissue valves, especially in the younger patients, is that it tends to scar up on Kelso if I have to replace it very quickly. Where is this one's Mito lost?

spk_2:   17:02
And it has to work hard because you're a hard working man. Yeah, well, we're

spk_0:   17:08
worried about national big nervous about going up the high intensity areas, even though there's no medical reason for me not to. But I have this vision of going up and causing my heart to explode. You know what I mean? So even though it's irrational feeling, but yeah,

spk_2:   17:23
well, you lost the vision of the healthy Graham that you had known for so long. Yeah. And that's how everything to lose

spk_0:   17:31
and and lack of fitness that I had, you know, just don't buy it, you know, like, I'm trying now. I'm doing it. Ha ha, man. In about a month's time first, once in surgery and a You know, I think I can do all the physical stuff in white and see what happens.

spk_2:   17:49
So tell me what being a cardiac athlete means to you, Graham.

spk_0:   17:52
Well, for me, one of the things is that I won't let anything stop me like your stubbornness. or resilience. But I just think, Well, I'm not gonna let this totally ruin my life for Tomi Village keeping going Bane athlete. And I just refused to Yeah, I just kind of coming. You believe that? I don't want to be need believe.

spk_2:   18:12
Absolutely. That seems to be a very common theme. That's what a lot of you cardiac athletes say.

spk_0:   18:18
You just got to deal with the college and gotten work around, you know? I mean, you gotta have the mindset that yes. Okay, buddy is not gonna work. Maybe as well as it should. Or things are harder. We're going to be harder. You may be sore, but if you stop your Yeah, you don't want to be believe.

spk_2:   18:36
Well, I love it. You have a very interesting story by custody. Aortic valve is the number one congenital heart defect, and most people aren't aware of that. But I was told by a cardiologists that it's projected that at least 3% of the population has a bicuspid aortic valve. And like you, most people don't even know it until something drastic happens. Like what just happened to you? So I'm so glad that you're okay. And that you're back out there performing. Are you going to be writing for Lars new book?

spk_0:   19:08
Yes, I have put a chapter.

spk_2:   19:10
Well, great. So for all of you listeners, I hope that she will check out cardiac athletes to and you'll get a chance to learn a little bit more about Graham Seddon. Thank you so much for coming on the program today, Graham.

spk_0:   19:22
Thank you, Anna.

spk_2:   19:24
It was a lot of fun, so thanks for listening today, folks. Please come back next week when we'll future another cardiac athlete. And until then, remember, my

spk_1:   19:32
friends, you are not Thank you again for joining us this week Way Hope you have been inspired on Empowered to become an advocate for the congenital heart defect community. Heart to heart with Anna with your hose down, Dworsky can be heard every Tuesday at 12. Noon eastern time.