Newbury couple who survived three heart scares prepare to tackle the Great South Run

A married couple who transformed their lives after several health scares are preparing to tackle this weekend’s Great South Run.

Steve and Sue Seddon are heading to Southsea to take part in the 10-mile race and raise funds for British Heart Foundation (BHF).

Fifteen years ago, when he was 46, Steve had a heart attack. He quit smoking, changed his diet and started exercising, banishing his couch potato days for good.

“It was like I became a different person after the heart attack,” the dad of three said. “I never had another urge to smoke a cigarette.

“As part of the rehab I started going for regular walks. One of my favourites was Greenham Common and the idea occurred to that I’d like to try and run it one day.”

As a result, he lost six stone and gained a running partner as Sue came with him.

Four years ago, he suffered a cardiac arrest while walking his dog. His life was saved by a passer-by who saw him collapse and carried out CPR until an ambulance arrived.

He was placed in an induced coma, and it was six days before he woke.

Sue said: “We were told that they didn’t know how much damage had been done by the oxygen deprivation. It was very much a waiting game.”

He was fitted with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), a battery-powered device that delivers a shock to the heart if it goes into a dangerous abnormal rhythm.

A year later started to experience pain in her chest and arm.

“It was an incredibly stressful time,” recalls Sue. “We were moving and there was a lot going on with our family. I just put it down to stress. Fortunately, Steve put his foot down and insisted on calling an ambulance.”

Tests revealed that Sue had been born with a hole in the heart. The 57-year-old underwent keyhole surgery to close it in March 2022.

“I was completely unaware I had this quite large hole in the heart, but looking back it makes sense,” she said.

“When I went running with Steve I would always struggle to keep up and my breathing sounded terrible. After I had the operation, I knocked two minutes off my normal time.”

The couple signed up to the AJ Bell Great South Run on Sunday, October 20, to support for the BHF, and will run with their daughters, Catherine and Christine, while son William will cheer them on.

Sue said: “Without the BHF I don’t believe that we would be here today. Their research helped develop the operations and technology we have both benefitted from.”

Steve said: “Raising money for the BHF is our way of saying thank you and making sure that there are new and even better ways to treat people in the future.”

The BHF is the official charity of the Great Run series of events.

Chloe Beevers, event manager for the BHF, said: “Sue and Steve are living proof of the lifesaving difference the research we’ve funded over many decades has made.

“We are immensely grateful to them both for taking on this event and raising money to help scientists discover new breakthroughs.

“Good luck and I hope you have a tremendous day.”