HOW IT ALL STARTED
THIS IS MY STORY
It may sound strange or even controversial, but the experience of dealing with a blood clot has been one of the most significant and transformative life experiences I have encountered.
My name is Jesper Outzen.
On August 10, 2017, at 07.43, I was hit by a large blood clot in my heart, exactly one month after my 41st birthday and precisely 90 days after the birth of my second son, Karl.
SHALL I DIE?
A WANDERING MYSTERY
None of the cardiologists could figure out why a blood clot hit me in the heart, and they called me a wandering mystery.
The only risk factors that jumped out were "male sex," which I had not intended to do anything about, and "high cholesterol content in the blood." My cholesterol level was a little too high. Still, according to the heart specialists, it was not to blame for the blood clot. Various scans had subsequently shown that the circumference of my vessels was large and without deposits.
Sometime after being hit by a blood clot, I went to my first meeting in the heart disease outpatient clinic at Kolding Hospital. The meeting dealt with, i.a., about creating coherence and an overview of my cardiac rehabilitation process.
The nurse started the conversation by saying:
"Jesper, you are now a chronically ill heart patient, and it is probably hereditarily predisposed."
Inside my head, a struggle started to hold back the emotions. The word chronic, I heard it again and again, means forever. At first, I was sad, but only for a brief moment, then I got angry and thought she should not call me chronically ill. At that moment, it dawned on me:
"You can only be chronically ill when you are alive."
That discovery changed my life, and it dawned on me that I had survived the leading cause of death in the world.
THE PHRASE THAT CHANGED MY LIFE
IT WAS TIME FOR A MAJOR LIFE CHANGE
From that moment on, I decided not to live with my illness. I wanted to EXPLORE and CHALLENGE it.
I changed my diet to plant-based and started getting in the shape of my life.
Today I travel all over Denmark and give talks on how I radically changed my life.
I do it #theheartpowerway
BODY RESULTS
Asthma
I have reduced my asthma tremendously.
Restitution
Recover significantly faster after exercise.
Cholesterol
I've been off my cholesterol-lowering medication since 2017.
Energy
The energy level has exploded. I play 3+ hours of tennis without any problems.
Allergy
No more allergies! Removed grass, dust, and cat allergies.
Body
My body is stronger than ever, at the age of 45+.
Running
I can run faster, longer, and every day.
Sleep
I get enough sleep.