Dr Chloe Sellwood | My cardiac arrest | Getting back on the track

We are delighted to welcome Dr Chloe Sellwood to the Fresh Heart Project. Chloe is an academic scientist, the national lead for pandemic influenza and the Deputy Head of Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response (EPRR), for NHS England and NHS Improvement for London. She is also a keen runner and in February 2019, midway through a month-long running challenge, Chloe had a cardiac arrest. She was successfully resuscitated and discovered she had been born with a congenital heart abnormality. Chloe had open heart surgery and had an implantable cardioverter defibrillator or an ICD inserted. Chloe found her emotional recovery harder than the physical rehabilitation. She struggled with her short term memory which is common in people who have had open heart surgery. Chloe found community and comfort in the facebook group “Cardiac Athletes”. With the help and support of people who had been through similar experiences, Chloe started to heal. Chloe is now back running and is a Run Director of Brockwell Parkrun and convenor of a local social running group in south London ‘Streatham Joggers’. Join us for a story of unexpected turns, courage, recovery and finding community. Useful resources:Website:https://cardiacathletes.com/books: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cardiac-Athletes-Superheroes-Beating-Disease/dp/1500159638https://www.amazon.co.uk/CARDIAC-ATHLETES-Ambassadors-Lars-Andrews/dp/0993038913 For more information about the Fresh Heart Project please visit our website www.freshheartproject.com. Remember, be kind to yourself and small, sustainable steps lead to great change.