'Prayers were said because people have died from this'

Cardiomyopathy. It’s not easily pronounced. The rare heart condition is not easily diagnosed, either, as Amelda and Neven Maguires found out after the birth of their twins, writes Paul Neilan.

The Maguires, who run the award-winning MacNean House & Restaurant in Blacklion, are lending their name to a Happy Hearts fundraising appeal for the Irish Heart Foundation this May 5 and 6.
After giving birth to the twins, Connor and Lucia, Amelda, an active, healthy and new mum felt unusually unwell and was diagnosed with a particular type of cardiomyopathy, brought on by the safe delivery of her twins.
The condition refers to diseases of the heart muscle, which becomes enlarged, thick or rigid in cardiomyopathy, causing the heart to not pump as well as normal.
Symptoms include swelling, fluid build up around the lung, couching, aches, irregular temperature, among others and if it doesn’t sound so serious it can be fatal without treatment.
“I was diagnosed after I had twins just over four years ago,” says Amelda, who is urging people to support the Happy Hearts campaign this Thursday and Friday.
“At the time, five days after the birth of the twins five years ago I was diagnosed - my blood pressure dropped, my temperature was abnormal, fluid had built up around my lungs, I remember I couldn’t lie down I had to sit up in bed and sleep sitting up and I was coughing all the time with the fluid built up around my lungs,” she says of her days in hospital after the births.
“They were amazing in Sligo [hospital], they sent me for a heart scan and they had pre-warned me that it could be heart failure so it was a bit of a shock but it was such an emotional time, having twins, that you are not sure how you are supposed to feel because we were so happy but I was rushed straight to the cardiac unit.
“I spent two weeks there and was put on medication straight away and it was a slow recovery at the start. I was very weak when I got home.”
“You were very weak,” stresses Neven.
“Even to walk a short distance took so much out of me,” says Amelda.
“It was scary at the time because I had such little understanding of it and was very confused.
“The Irish Heart Foundation had a lot of literature that I could read and it gave me a better understanding of it. When I got out, they told me that the best thing I could do was to rest my body to help heal my heart and around a year later my heart was back to normal.”

'Prayers were said’
“Because Amelda was so sick,” says Neven. “I used to go in every day and I thought that because it was after the twins that Amelda was tired but she said she kept coughing and when I heard about that I got worried.
“I didn’t know what it meant at the time but the doctor sat down Amelda’s mum and me and said: 'You know your wife is very, very ill. She’s seriously ill now and we are going to do what we can for her.’
“We were on such a high after the twins were born and then you’re told that and, looking at her now, she’s made a 100% recovery and thank god because people can die and have died from this. “While it’s not the most common condition, people have written letters to Amelda of their struggles with this - women in particular because it is directly related to birth.
“It was a very stressful time, I’m not going to lie to you and there were a lot of prayers said, her mum and dad were very worried but they were so good to us in Sligo, they really were, so there was medication for about a year and now none so now she’s able to run 3K and 5K and is great.”

Get checked
The couple are urging people to enjoy a balanced lifestyle, healthier eating and to get their hearts checked as not all symptoms are immediately apparent as being heart-related.
“It took five days before I got diagnosed and if they had let me go home things could have been a lot worse because I may have thought that I just had a cough or that I was meant to be feeling like this after the twins,” she says.
“I don’t think they actually now why or what exactly causes it. You could be at a slightly higher risk when having twins because your heart is under more pressure because lots of single-pregnancy mothers have had it, too.
“You don’t take your health for granted as much when something like that happens to you.”
Combining the restaurant with the twins could be stressful enough for any couple, Amelda’s recovery was down to her already healthy eating habits, active lifestyle, family support and medication, which is no longer required, but the couple emphasise a happy work-life balance.
“Amelda works the accounts, the interior and the pay roll so she is a very important part of the business - she’s the boss! - and it was great in that with the twins and the business we were lucky to have the support of her mother, in particular, who looks after the twins three days a week because we were busy and Amelda was so weak when she got out that we were very lucky to have family all around,” says Neven.
“I’ve done recipes for Healthy Heart before and we do promotions with them in the restaurant and I think they wanted people to get the message to just look after yourself and be aware that we all have only one heart and we have to take care of it and Amelda’s always been very interested in healthy eating and she looks after herself, walking and exercise.

Moderation
“For me, when we want to give people the best quality food and ingredients the message I give to people is 'everything in moderation’ and if people cook at home they can control the amount of salt, particularly, or sugar in their meals and buy less processed foods. That’s where I’m coming from if people cook at home they can eat together as a family and value, respect and enjoy your good health - I think that’s the key.
“The first thing that people do when they come into the restaurant is season the food - salt and pepper without even tasting it - so we have become a little bit 'immune’ to salt and we feel that foods need salt but food has it’s own flavour so we want to keep it very natural and the way you cook it, too, is very important.”
The couple emphasise time with their young family as important to de-stress from work schedules and to relax, if not always around the family dinner table.
“We have a great team [in McNean’s] but don’t get me wrong,” says Neven, “we get family time - that’s very important for both of us. Monday and Tuesday are our weekends and we get time away with the twins. The twins are the best thing that ever happened to us because, on top of everything else, we have a bit of structure, they go to pre-school and we have made time to be with them in that we eat together, go on holidays together, so it’s just great - a boy and a girl, two for the price of one in Cavan!”
The Maguires’ message is a simple, vital one:
“Enjoy your good health, never take it for granted because it can change very quickly and make the most life. Enjoy it!”

The Irish Heart Foundation is asking for your support by buying a happy heart pin from volunteers on May 5 and 6 or by texting HAPPY to 50300 to give €4. www.irishheart.ie