11/14/2018 Cycling with an ICD - Heart Matters magazine - BHF

Menu Search Donate

Heart Matters
More than a magazine: information, inspiration and support

Cycling with an ICD

Martin Woolcott adjusted to life with an ICD and now he can’t stop cycling. He tells Rachael Healy
about his biggest biking adventures. 

“My most memorable ride was the Maratona dles Dolomites in 2014,” says Martin Woolcott. “It’s
tough – you’re cycling up and down eight mountains – but when you cross that finish line, there’s
the euphoria and you want to do it all again.”

Martin has an abnormal heart rhythm and in 2008 was fitted with an implantable cardioverter
defibrillator (ICD), but you’d never know it. Most days of the week, you’ll find him on his bike.
He’s ridden the Mendip Hills in Bristol, defeated the Dartmoor Classic, scaled the mighty Italian
Dolomites and covers up to 40 hilly miles cycling to and from work.

“My proudest moment was completing the Prudential RideLondon 100 last year,” he says. “My son
Edward said he’d do it with me, and between us we raised almost £1,300 for the BHF.”

My first ride was the Dartmoor Classic... I raised about £800 for the BHF

Martin, 51, wasn’t always a cyclist, but he’s always been active. When he left school, he was a
keen rugby player, filling the roles of wing and goal-kicker. Later in life, he trained to be a football
referee and adjudicated at matches for leagues of all ages. He’s always played a bit of cricket too.

During his rugby days, he’d sometimes feel a strange sensation after a blast of running. “All of a
sudden, I would feel very dizzy and I would have to stand still for five to 10 seconds,” says Martin.
“I put it down to being an active person and my body telling me I’d done a bit too much.”

He forgot about these dizzy spells until he became a referee in his mid-40s. “Not only was I getting
this sensation of dizziness, which was more disconcerting at that age, but my legs were turning to

https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-magazine/my-story/martin-woolcott 1/6
11/14/2018 Cycling with an ICD - Heart Matters magazine - BHF

jelly,” he says. “During summer 2008, while I was refereeing an under-eights game in a
tournament, I actually keeled over. It was then that I decided to seek medical help.”

Looking for answers

Following an appointment with his GP, Martin was referred to Torbay Hospital, where he underwent
an exercise ECG test, also known as a stress test, on a treadmill. This examination looks at how
your heart works while you’re active, but the symptoms Martin had been experiencing during
football matches didn’t materialise.

“The consultant wanted to get to the bottom of it. I

suggested I could wear a heart monitor, if necessary, and he
loaned me one [a cardiac event recorder] that went round
my neck,” Martin explains. “Then, lo and behold, that
Saturday while I was refereeing, the symptoms came again.
I was able to press a button on the monitor and it retained
all of the information.

“It was the first time that not only did I get the dizziness, but I actually blacked out and collapsed
on the field. It transpired that my heart was beating at around 280bpm.”

Martin returned to Torbay Hospital, where cardiologists investigated his condition. An angiogram
revealed his arteries were in good condition. “The consultant said: ‘I’m a plumber, you need an
electrician.’ There was something wrong electrically, something wrong with my heartbeat.” Martin
was diagnosed with ventricular tachycardia and was transferred to Exeter Hospital to have an ICD
fitted.

Read about tests to diagnose heart rhythm problems.

A new chapter
Martin wanted to get back to refereeing, but wasn’t sure he’d pass the Football Association’s
health tests. Keen to get moving again, he took up walking. “Having always been fit and played
sports, I wondered what I could do next,” he says.

In summer 2009, while in Moretonhampstead with his son, Martin spotted cyclists riding the
Dartmoor Classic. “I thought: ‘I want to do that’,” he says. “I decided I could raise money for the
BHF. Somebody was doing something years ago that allowed me to be lucky. So, in 10, 20 or 30
years’ time, somebody might benefit from the money I raise.”

Before the fundraising could start, Martin needed a bike. Using the Cycle to Work scheme, he got a
hybrid bicycle and began travelling to the office on it at least once a week, building up stamina for
longer rides.

I just enjoy life, because I’ve got a second chance to do things

https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-magazine/my-story/martin-woolcott 2/6
11/14/2018 Cycling with an ICD - Heart Matters magazine - BHF

After a few months of training, he was ready. “My first ride was the Dartmoor Classic. I raised
about £800 for the BHF doing that in 2010,” says Martin. “I decided to do it again in 2011.” Martin
was hooked. In 2011, he signed up to numerous cycling events.

“There was the Lionheart out of Longleat, and I did a Black Rat Challenge, which is round the
Mendips in Bristol,” he says. “Then there was the Dartmoor Classic again, and I went round the Isle
of Wight on the Wight Ferry Sportive.”

This year, Martin will complete the RideLondon 100 again, Velothon Wales, the Rise Above Sportive
with Mark Cavendish and the Tour de Yorkshire – all to raise even more money for the BHF.

It hasn’t been a completely smooth ride; a rain-soaked Bristol Belter in September 2011 led to
Martin fracturing his hip. He didn’t let this dampen his passion for cycling, though. Before long he
was back in the saddle. Similarly, on the three occasions his ICD triggered, he’s stayed positive.

“Every time it’s triggered, I’ve not had the symptoms I was displaying previously,” he says. “It
constantly monitors what my heart is doing, so it’s never got to that stage where I’m collapsing. It
is working.

“I just enjoy life, because I’ve got a second chance to do things. I’m here to enjoy myself, whether
that’s on my bike, at home or out with Edward. I’m lucky.”

Help Martin raise money for us at his JustGiving page or text WOOL65 + donation amount to 70070.

Read how an ICD hasn’t stopped Carl Portman’s jungle adventures.

Read about Bill Taylor, who gets reassurance from his ICD after his heart attack and cardiac
arrest.

Discover what to expect in a cath lab, where procedures like implantation of ICDs are carried
out. 

Martin’s tips for getting started

Find your nearest bike shop

It’s important to find a style of bike to suit your needs. “You can get loads of advice from your
local cycling shop,” says Martin. Town bikes are good for relaxed rides, but if you aspire to long
routes like Martin, you may need a road bike. With hybrid, mountain, folding and electric bikes
too, there’s something for everyone.

Read more about how to beg, borrow or repair a bike.

Use the National Cycle Network

This network of traffic-free and leisurely routes covers 14,000 miles of the UK. “For those who
are worried about cycling on the road, you can go off-road, onto quieter roads or onto old
railway tracks,” says Martin. “For those who haven’t been cycling for a long time, this will help
https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-magazine/my-story/martin-woolcott 3/6
11/14/2018 Cycling with an ICD - Heart Matters magazine - BHF

you become more confident. Take your time; it’s about the enjoyment of cycling, seeing the
countryside that you’d miss in a car.”

Related publications

Implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs)

Booklet

Physical Activity and your Heart

Booklet

Be active for life

Booklet

Beat heartbreak forever

https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-magazine/my-story/martin-woolcott 4/6
11/14/2018 Cycling with an ICD - Heart Matters magazine - BHF

Get in touch
Contact us

Fundraising & events: 0300 330 3322

Heart Helpline - for medical enquiries: 0300 330 3311

Phone lines are open 9am to 5pm,

Monday to Friday

For all other enquiries please see our Contact Us page

Work for us
Jobs

Volunteer

Your BHF
Online community

My Account/register

Get our email newsletter

Find the BHF near you

Our policies
Privacy & cookies

Terms & conditions

Accessibility

Modern slavery statement

All policies

Follow us

https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-magazine/my-story/martin-woolcott 5/6
11/14/2018 Cycling with an ICD - Heart Matters magazine - BHF

British Heart Foundation is a registered Charity No. 225971. Registered as a Company limited by guarantee in England &
Wales No. 699547. Registered office at Greater London House, 180 Hampstead Road, London NW1 7AW. Registered as a
Charity in Scotland No. SC039426

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. By continuing to use our
site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. You can change your cookie settings at any time if you want.
Read our new privacy and cookies policy.
Accept and close

https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-magazine/my-story/martin-woolcott 6/6