My Health Journey

The experiences that shaped my understanding of health, healthy ageing and the purpose behind Vitality Hub

By Dennis H

Former Gym Manager, Qualified Personal Trainer, Longtime Student of Evidence-Based Health and Healthy Ageing

If you had met me as a teenager, you probably would not have guessed that health and healthy ageing would one day become such an important part of my life.

At school I struggled with cross-country running and other endurance activities. I never understood why. At sixteen, during a routine medical for superannuation as a printing apprentice, a doctor detected a heart murmur. Further investigations at Green Lane Hospital in Auckland revealed that I had a congenital aortic valve condition. At the time I didn't fully appreciate what that meant for my future, but it marked the beginning of a lifelong relationship with cardiology.

I was prescribed penicillin for two years to protect against infection. Looking back, I believe that prolonged treatment contributed to the gut problems that stayed with me for many years. Even so, health was not my focus. I cycled competitively, played a great deal of squash and, despite my heart condition, lived much like anyone else. I also developed a heavy smoking habit.

After the breakdown of my first marriage, my health deteriorated. I was smoking heavily, drinking more than I should and my weight fell to just 48 kilograms. Two conversations changed the direction of my life. A shop assistant commented that I looked unwell, and my boss suggested I speak to his brother, Harry, who owned Harry's Gym in Canberra.

Walking into that gym changed my life.

Weight training helped me regain strength, confidence and purpose. It sparked a fascination with how the human body responds to exercise, nutrition and lifestyle. Although I was becoming fitter, I still struggled to quit smoking. My cardiologist repeatedly warned me that one day I would need aortic valve surgery and that smoking increased the risks. I understood the logic, but addiction rarely responds to logic alone.

The turning point came when my wife quietly admitted she was afraid I would die young because of smoking. That simple expression of concern achieved what years of advice had not. With the help of my doctor and a medication called Zyban, I quit smoking on Christmas Day 2000. It remains one of the best decisions I have ever made.

In February 2004 I underwent my first open-heart operation to replace my aortic valve with a mechanical valve. The day after leaving hospital I returned to the gym—not to lift weights, but to walk on a treadmill. It seemed a sensible place to begin rehabilitation: out of the summer heat, away from loose dogs and surrounded by people trained in first aid. The trainers thought I was mad. I simply wanted to recover as well as I could.

Cardiac rehabilitation reinforced something I had begun to suspect. Maintaining fitness before surgery had made recovery much easier. As my strength returned, I experienced something I had never known before. For the first time in my life I could jog without my lungs burning or feeling that I could never get enough air. Within months I completed my first 10-kilometre fun run, then a half marathon, and eventually the Canberra Marathon. It was an emotional milestone because it proved that the limitations I had accepted for so many years were largely due to the valve I had been born with.

Around that time I was encouraged to become a personal trainer. What began as one evening shift each week soon became a full-time career. Over the years I progressed to Gym Manager and later Health and Fitness Manager. Along the way I completed numerous professional development courses in exercise, rehabilitation, running technique and nutrition, while continuing to study widely on my own.

Life has continued to present challenges. Since that first operation I have undergone further major heart surgery and pacemaker procedures. They were never experiences I wanted, but they reinforced an important lesson: modern medicine can give us extraordinary opportunities, and how we respond afterwards matters. Sensible rehabilitation, regular exercise, good nutrition, quality sleep and an informed approach to health can make an enormous difference to quality of life.

Vitality Hub grew out of that journey.

My purpose is not to tell people what to think or to promote miracle solutions. It is to encourage curiosity, critical thinking and informed decisions. The science of health is constantly evolving, and I continue to learn every day.

If sharing my experiences helps someone feel less anxious about heart surgery, encourages another person to stop smoking, inspires someone to begin exercising, or simply prompts a reader to ask a better question about their own health, then every hour spent researching and writing these articles will have been worthwhile.

Once you lose your health, you have lost one of life's most precious assets. My hope is that Vitality Hub helps people protect it for as long as possible.