Dad thought his shortness of breath was just an asthma attack - but it was something much more deadly

A dad who would run five to seven times a week suffered a silent heart attack which he said “probably saved my life” after it uncovered a deadly defect.

Alex Roth, 56, a media executive from London, initially thought he was having an asthma attack when he had trouble breathing while running in January 2022. What Alex did not realise was that he had suffered a heart attack and was at risk of premature death due to an unrelated heart defect.

Nearly a year on from lifesaving open heart surgery, Alex has now trekked 100 miles through Snowdonia for the British Heart Foundation (BHF). He has raised more than £50,000.

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Alex, who lives with his wife, Erin, 57, a school chairperson, and has three children, Jack, 26, Max, 25, and Helen, 20, said: “I would run on average 35 miles a week, rain or shine, summer or winter. I was in good shape, I’ve never smoked, I don’t drink much alcohol, so I never thought I would be someone at risk of a heart attack.

“Afterwards, I kept saying to my wife, ‘I don’t understand how this could possibly happen to me’, but I’ve now realised that being fit and looking after yourself is not a way to avoid these things. You are still at risk of things like heart disease and have to be aware of the signs, however, being healthy is a good way to prepare to deal with something like this when it happens.

“If I hadn’t been in good shape, then things could have ended up a lot worse than they did.”

Alex first experienced breathing problems in 2018 but the breathing became considerably more laboured in January 2022. “I’ve always considered myself to be healthy, but I started having trouble breathing while running, which I assumed was