“Is it normal to be feeling like this” when you’ve had a heart attack or heart surgery?

by Sallie Crawley | Aug 3, 2026 | Emotional Recovery & Mental Health, Physical Recovery & Cardiac Rehabilitation, Podcast, Relationships, Family, Carers & Intimacy, Symptoms, Monitoring & Knowing When to Get Help, Tests, Medicines, Treatments & Surgery

Have you ever found yourself wondering, “Is it normal to feel like this?” Perhaps you’ve had a heart attack, heart surgery, a cardiac arrest, or received a cardiac diagnosis, and since then, you’ve been feeling anxious; maybe frightened,...

Love, Intimacy & Sex after a Heart Attack or Surgery

by Sallie Crawley | Dec 10, 2025 | Emotional Recovery & Mental Health, Physical Recovery & Cardiac Rehabilitation, Podcast, Relationships, Family, Carers & Intimacy, Understanding Your Heart & Diagnosis

This may be the last thing on your mind when you first come out of the hospital, but how do you get the zing back into your love life after an event or surgery? Well, read on to rediscover love, intimacy and sex after a heart attack or surgery. Listen here and read on...

Living with a Healthy Heart and a Happy Brain

by Sallie Crawley | Nov 26, 2025 | Confidence, Acceptance & Moving Forward, Emotional Recovery & Mental Health, Everyday Life, Work & Travel, Physical Recovery & Cardiac Rehabilitation, Podcast, Relationships, Family, Carers & Intimacy

From Fear to Freedom – Step by Step, Beat by Beat Harnessing your neurotransmitters: Learning about how you can have happy brain chemicals despite having a cardiac event. Today we are talking about Cortisol & Adrenaline and Dopamine, Serotonin, Endorphins...

Coming Home: What the Early Months After a Heart Attack Really Feel Like

by Sallie Crawley | Jul 28, 2025 | Emotional Recovery & Mental Health, Everyday Life, Work & Travel, Physical Recovery & Cardiac Rehabilitation, Podcast, Relationships, Family, Carers & Intimacy, Tests, Medicines, Treatments & Surgery, Understanding Your Heart & Diagnosis

Something that I get asked quite often is “What happens and how will I feel in the first few weeks and months after leaving the hospital following heart surgery or a heart attack?” A question that most people will have running through their minds at some point after a...

Rebuilt Engine: John Fraser’s Journey – CABG and a Collapsed Lung

by Sallie Crawley | Feb 28, 2025 | Confidence, Acceptance & Moving Forward, Emotional Recovery & Mental Health, Physical Recovery & Cardiac Rehabilitation, Podcast, Relationships, Family, Carers & Intimacy, Stories & Inspiration, Tests, Medicines, Treatments & Surgery

Welcome back to the My Heart & Mind podcast! In this week’s episode, we have the incredibly inspiring John Fraser, who candidly shares his journey through a triple coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. John’s story is a testament to resilience, the power of...

Embracing Awe: The Surprising Connection Between Wonder and Cardiac Wellbeing

by Sallie Crawley | Jan 25, 2025 | Confidence, Acceptance & Moving Forward, Emotional Recovery & Mental Health, Physical Recovery & Cardiac Rehabilitation, Podcast, Relationships, Family, Carers & Intimacy

I’m not sure about you, does your heart attack or heart surgery consume your life? Is your heart health at the centre of everything that you do or think? If the impact of your heart surgery, heart attack or cardiac arrest has affected your mental and emotional...