MY FATHER died of a heart attack at the age of 52, so when I turned 40 in April 2006, I treated myself to the most expensive private medical check-up I could at a private clinic.
I even paid extra for a 3-D MRI scan of my heart. Other than being told to lose a bit of weight, I was given a clean bill of health.
A couple of months later I had two heart attacks while on holiday in Cyprus. I had woken up at 4am in a hotel in Paphos with breathing difficulties. I felt as if I had pneumonia, but when it started getting worse I went to the hotel reception to try to get an ambulance.
The hotel receptionist didn't understand, so I got a taxi to the hospital, which was close by. If it had happened in Mayo I wouldn't have survived the journey to Castlebar Hospital.
At the hospital they immediately recognised that I was in the middle of a heart attack and did what was needed to be done. My partner Fiona was contacted. She was still asleep at the hotel, unaware of what was going on. By the time she arrived at the hospital I was having my second attack.
They were worried that I was not going to make it so she was allowed to see me for only 30 seconds and was warned not to cry or upset me.
I was transferred to the American Heart Institute in Nicosia. Two doctors and a cardiologist accompanied Fiona and I on the two-hour ambulance journey to the capital.
It was a very scary journey. I was fully aware, but was on morphine for the pain. I thought of all the things I hadn't done in my life. I thought about my family, particularly my sons, David and Shane. All my childhood prayers came back to me and I tried to make my peace with God.
I was rushed into surgery and a stent was put in. My doctor was a man called Christof P Christou. He had worked in Boston for years, where he had been given the nickname Flanagan by his Irish-American friends there.
The medical attention I received in Cyprus was second to none. They are more technologically advanced there. The procedure was done through my right arm. In Ireland they go through the leg. It's funny, because all the equipment used there is made in Ireland (in Boston Scientific in Galway and Welch Allyn in Navan). When I left Cyprus they gave me a DVD of my operation, so I could show it to doctors at home.
My travel insurance fairly came in handy. My medical treatment would have cost between €30,000 and €40,000 if I had not been covered. It was the best €20 I ever spent.
I returned home to Ireland 17 days later, just in time for Christmas. It was only at home that the reality sunk in. I was so happy to be alive and conscious that I had been given a second chance.
I had led a very stressful life prior to the heart attack. I used to smoke 30-40 cigarettes a day. That stopped the day of my heart attack. Fiona also gave up smoking, which was a great help. All of a sudden, I had to wind down and change lifestyle. I experienced some depression and anxiety.
A year after I returned home from Cyprus, I heard about a cardiac rehabilitation course through the deputy principal at my son's school. He had also had a heart attack. In Ireland you are automatically referred to the course, but because I had become sick while abroad, I was out of the loop.
I started the course at Castlebar Hospital at the start of this year. It has turned my life around. It is an eight-week education and training programme. It explains what you have been through, and what you are capable of doing. They hook you up to heart monitor machines in their little gym to design an exercise programme to suit you.
It gave me a great understanding of diet, medication and exercise, as well as great confidence to go out and do things. Up to that point I did not know what I could, or could not, do. It helped me take control of my life again.
The health service gets such a slagging in Ireland, but I have to say that the cardiac rehabilitation service was fantastic.
There was also a stress management course over a six-week period. I have learned to stop building empires and have cut down on my work. I have a number of businesses including a shipping business that required a lot of international travel. I had to work twice as hard to set up my businesses so I could take a step back from them.
At the beginning of this year I was also diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. When you have had a big kick like a heart attack you can handle anything. I have gone from never seeing a doctor, to seeing one every few weeks. My attitude is "throw it all at me, and let's get it sorted now".
I feel that I am a very lucky man. Having a near death experience fairly puts things into perspective. I have a much greater appreciation for my life and the people in it.
I moved to Mayo five years ago, but was too busy working to really appreciate it. After the heart attack I got off the rollercoaster, and I am now realising the dream that we moved down to Mayo for. I just stopped. I realised that what I had was enough. Half of what I had was enough.
The old me would be very stressed right now with the whole credit crunch, now I know I can't let it bother me.
• If you have had a health experience - good or bad - that you would like to talk about, contact: healthsupplement @irishtimes.com
Heart Attack: what puts you at risk?
Risk factors we cannot change:
• Age: as we get older we are more at risk of heart disease.
• Sex: men have a greater risk of heart attack than women, and they have heart attacks earlier in life.
• Family history: heart disease is inherited, so if there is a history of it in your family, you are more likely to get it.
Risk factors we can change:
• Smoking: smoking is very harmful to your blood vessels and heart, it makes the blood more likely to clot. Smoking also tightens up the arteries, and causes a fatty substance known as atheroma to form in the arteries.
• High cholesterol: too much cholesterol in the blood can attach to the artery walls as atheroma, which can lead to heart attack.
• High blood pressure: elevated blood pressure increases the heart's workload, causing the heart to thicken or stiffen. When high blood pressure is present with other risk factors, the risk of heart attack increases several times.
• Physical inactivity: an inactive lifestyle is a risk factor for coronary heart disease.
• Weight: being overweight means your heart has to work harder to pump blood around the body. This extra pressure can cause wear and tear on your heart and blood vessel system.
• Diabetes: diabetes seriously increases your risk of developing cardiovascular disease. High levels of glucose in the blood can cause damage to arteries and nerves if a person does not produce enough insulin.
• For information and advice on heart conditions and stroke, symptoms and prevention, contact the Irish Heart Foundation Patient Helpline on Locall 1890-432 787