'If it helps one person, it’s good to talk about': Michael English back on the road after heart attack
Recalling the day he suffered the heart attack, Michael English said he felt as though his batteries were a little low that morning.
Country music singer Michael English has said he has no intention of stopping doing what he loves, but will take a ‘me day’ each week on his doctor's advice, following a recent heart attack.
The 46-year-old suffered what he described as a mild heart attack last week while travelling to a gig with his manager, Bryan.
Speaking on the Oliver Callan Show on RTÉ Radio 1, English said he decided to speak up about his experience in the hope that it might help others.
“If it helps one person, it’s good to talk about these things,” he said, saying he feels great again.
Recalling the day he suffered the heart attack, English said he felt as though his batteries were a little low that morning.
On route to his next gig with his manager Bryan, English said he felt as though things weren’t quite right halfway through the journey.
“I just wasn’t able really to stand up. I just felt that I had no energy at all; my heart was racing. I didn’t have any pain, funny enough," he told Callan.
"Just felt that my heart was going to leap out of my chest. Bryan took over the driving, and I blacked out, really, for the next 20 minutes. I was gone.”
English received medical attention at University Hospital Waterford and the Hermitage Clinic in Dublin and has since been told he can go back to work.
“I woke up when I was just heading into the hospital, but I don't remember anything else. It was a strange episode. I never thought it would happen to me and I decided to talk about it in the hope that it might help somebody else. It’s important to get yourself checked out, and I certainly will be doing that going forward."
English went on to say that he was told he had suffered a mild heart attack.
“I had all the tests and the full MOT, but they just have one more test they want to do. They want to wait until it's [the heart is] completely healed, which they say will be about another week," he said.
“But I feel great. I went back on the road at the weekend. I did three nights in Mullingar. I got the green light. I love performing. I don't want to let the people down who are all arriving at the shows. I have a band, I have a crew, I have a lot of people to think about.
“I didn't do it foolishly or irresponsibly, I did genuinely get the green light to go ahead, and so it’s back to normal, but it was a wake-up call.”
English said that he loves his business and being on the road, but that he will be taking on board advice from his doctor to incorporate some time for himself in his weekly schedule.
“I think anybody who knows me probably knows that I eat, sleep and drink the business, and that’s what I’m going to continue to do, but the advice from the doctor is to continue doing that, but to have a me day every week, have a day. Normally, if I were playing six nights a week, on the seventh day I’d be writing or recording in the studio; it's good to have a day off.”
He admitted that up to now, he didn’t know how to take a day off, but said he is “definitely working on it now”.
“I’m having a day or two, every week if I’m not working or not performing. It’s good to even have a walk or a swim, go to a movie, or do something. Because it’s not so much the physical, it's the mental state as well,” he said.
“Our life is on the road all the time. You’re trying your best to get enough sleep. You’re trying your best to eat healthy, which is not easy on the road, but I do try. And when I’m off, I do go for a walk. I went for a swim last week. It’s not easy when you’re on the road night, noon, and morning.”
Speaking about his love for performing, he acknowledged that he performs about 300 shows each year.
“I probably don't need to work as hard as I do, but I just love it. I eat, sleep, and drink the business. I genuinely love performing,” he said.
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