“I felt invincible – then I needed heart surgery in my fifties.”
Jason Doyle’s life was happening at 100 miles an hour. He shares how having heart surgery forced him to pause and appreciate life.
An unexpected diagnosis
Jason Doyle was living a fast-paced life: working on a trading floor as a stockbroker, spending time with his wife and three teenage children, going to the gym and taking part in triathlons. Then a routine check-up in 2017 revealed that he had a heart murmur.
“Until then I felt somewhat invincible: fit, active, enjoying life,” Jason explains. “I worked in 24-hour global markets, meaning long hours, a fair amount of stress, international travel, and at times a lack of sleep. It was enjoyable, but definitely hard work.”
After further investigation, Jason was diagnosed with a bicuspid aortic valve, a condition where the aortic valve has two flaps, instead of the normal three, making it more difficult for the heart to pump blood. His doctor explained that he had been born with it. “Most people find out about a bicuspid valve when they get symptoms – it’s unusual to find out before that.”
Jason was advised to have regular check-ups but he didn’t need surgery to correct it straight away, so he carried on as normal for the next four years. “I think I was a bit in denial, just thinking ‘I’ll get round to having a look at that when I have the time.’ I didn’t feel in any way ill. With hindsight I can see that a busy life, or my fear of the unknown, stopped me from having regular check-ups.”
Waiting for urgent open-heart surgery
When Jason turned 50, he and his wife Sian had a moment of reflection, and decided to prioritise their health and family life. Jason stopped working and made an appointment for another heart check-up. This one revealed that his heart muscle had become enlarged, because of the strain of pumping blood through a faulty valve. He would urgently need open heart surgery to replace the leaking valve.
As it was at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, there was a delay of several months before Jason had the surgery. He used the time to research and prepare for his operation, including weighing up the pros and cons of having a tissue or mechanical replacement valve. He broke the process down into smaller steps to make it manageable.
“The waiting period was difficult for me, but perhaps with hindsight, it was good. I had more time to process everything I was really scared but I realised I couldn’t hide or be in denial about it.
“At first, it was about the practical side of trying to understand what was going on. I read a lot, I asked questions, I read about other people my age, especially sportspeople, who’d had cardiac events and bounced back. These stories helped me to realise many people go through this. The more research we did, the less it fazed me.”
Covering all the big questions
Having time to prepare for the surgery also meant that Jason was able to have honest conversations with family and friends about it. His advice to others is to have these conversations, even when they seem difficult, and even to plan them out in advance.
“My wife and I talked a lot. It’s very easy to bottle that nervous energy up, and it will sit inside you like a stone – or you can have the tricky conversations.” Jason and his wife would walk the dog together and decide in advance what they would talk about. Knowing that there was a small chance of him dying during the operation, they discussed updating their wills and made sure she knew the passwords to all their accounts.
My wife and I talked a lot. It’s very easy to bottle that nervous energy up.
“We covered all the big questions. We would sometimes be in tears walking around, but you feel a bit better once you’ve squared away something tricky you hadn’t wanted to talk about. After Christmas Day, we sat down and shared everything with our three children. There were tears, but being able to present our process and plan helped. They were very resilient.”
The physical and emotional recovery
The operation happened in February 2021, replacing his aortic valve with a new mechanical valve. “I now have a decent scar, a sense of the enormity of such an operation.”
Jason was in hospital for about a week and a half and soon afterwards he began to get back to light exercise, starting with short walks, and progressing to using an exercise bike and doing gentle exercises in the gym. He also worked on his mental recovery.
On days when I didn't want to move, I divided the physical and emotional recovery
“There were days when I didn’t want to move. On those days I divided the physical and mental recovery. Things like mindful breathing exercises, meditation, time spent processing any emotions like anger, remorse or anxiety.”
A year on from the operation, Jason is back to feeling healthy, going to the gym, playing tennis and the racquet sport padel, and enjoys spending time with his family. He has also continued to practise the mindful habits that helped him through his recovery.
“You can create new positive habits – you could even tick them off on a chart. I still focus on gratitude, and I record in a journal what I’m grateful for, for example writing how invigorating I found it that I moved well in tennis today.
“It’s not something I would have done before, but I now realise the importance of spending some time to stop, pause and recognise all that we have to be grateful for.”
Jason's 5 tips for preparing for heart surgery
- Break your planning down into small steps.
- Make notes when talking to doctors.
- Useful items to have in hospital and at home include a V-shaped pillow, which will hold you upright in bed and provide comfort when you sleep. Longer power cables are useful for your phone and any other electronics.
- Have a nominated friend share updates of your situation with others, so you don’t have to when you’re exhausted.
- Don’t be afraid to put your hand up for help – or to cry a bit, recognise fears, and let that negative energy come out.
Hear more of Jason's story on The Ticker Tapes
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