Heart attack survivor among 17 in 625km cycling tour
Published on: Thursday, September 14, 2017
Kota Kinabalu: A heart attack survivor who has been taking up cycling to stay healthy is up for his greatest challenge yet by participating in a 625km tour around Sabah.Azman Hussin, 43, suffered a heart attack three years ago. He felt a burning sensation on his chest and weighed 100kg."I ultimately found out that my cholesterol level was very high," said Azman before the IJN's "My Heart, My Life" Sabah Cycling Tour 2017, which was flagged off at Khidmat-Kolombong, Wednesday.ADVERTISEMENT "I was shocked but I know I was never active in sports since I was too busy with work and had no time to exercise sufficiently."I never bothered about my diet, with junk and fast food daily. So I didn't seem to care when my cholesterol was high since I felt normal and I thought I was perfectly fine and healthy," His nightmarish experience transformed him to a healthier person by joining the IGN Cycling Club in his effort to be active in sports.Azman said cycling is a very good activity since it lowers heart diseases and he faced no health issues past three years.ADVERTISEMENT "I have reduced my body mass to 78kg ever since I started eating healthy and cycling regularly but I never miss my regular check on my cholesterol level," added Azman.He advised youths and even elderlies to undergo regular medical check-ups and take up cardio exercises regularly to reduce the risk of developing heart-related diseases and other diseases.
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"My Heart, My Life" is a cycling tour programme organised by the National Heart Institute (IJN) charity programme, in conjunction with Malaysia Day Celebration and World Heart Awareness Month, in the State.In collaboration with the National Cardiac Cycle Cardiac Cycling Team (IJNCC), Azman and 16 other cyclists comprising medical and non-medical staff will be cycling through six stages around Sabah to raise awareness for cardiac health, with free medical check-up for local communities.The tour began from the State Capital to Sipitang, Keningau, Kundasang and Kota Marudu and they are expected to return to Kota Kinabalu on September 18.IJNCC Captain Azran Ahmad said the team will be holding several health talks and free screening for urban and rural communities at several locations around Sabah.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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"We will be doing heart-related health talk and provide blood pressure test, sugar test, cholesterol test and Body Mass Index (BMI) test for free.Azran added that the cycling team will celebrate Malaysia Day and World Heart Awareness Month in Kundasang Town Hall with local residents. - Locksley Ng