Colchester dad to thank British Heart Foundation in cycle

Nik Brunner, from Stanway, is aiming to cycle 1,000km in just 75 hours to support British Heart Foundation after he had major heart bypass surgery in March 2020.

The 47-year-old first noticed there was a problem while he was riding. He would later be told two of the arteries to his heart were almost completely blocked.

“I had been doing a few long-distance rides when I started to have pains in my chest,” explained Mr Brunner.

“I went to my GP and they ran some tests. The results did not show any problems and as it was not getting worse, we decided to see how it goes.

Lifesaving - Nik Brunner, 47, after his operation

“However, a couple of months later, the pains became more severe. As well as my chest, I was now getting pain in my arm and along my jaw.”

Following an angiogram, it was found the dad-of-three had a 99 per cent blockage in on of his heart arteries, and a 95 per cent blockage in another, and that he was at serious risk of a heart attack.

He added: “It was complete shock. By this point, I’d had so many tests that I thought if something was really wrong, they would have found it already.

“Only the day before I’d been out doing a 30 mile bike ride. When you hear things like that alarm bells start to ring, and you think about your own mortality.”

Cyclist - Nik Brunner with his bike

Mr Brunner, who works in finance, had open heart surgery at the Essex Cardiothoracic Centre in Basildon to replace his blocked artery, remaining in hospital for a week.

Since then, he has been building up his fitness to undertake the gruelling fundraiser which will begin on Thursday.

To complete the ambitious task, he will need to spend up to 18-hours in the saddle each day and cover distances as far as 200 miles.

“Completing this ride would feel like the end of the story,” he added. You can support Mr Brunner’s fundraiser online via bit.ly/3T9mtKC.