audio-talk

Ah that’s so sad, he was a really good bloke.

Sure I speak for all in asking you to pass on our heartfelt condolences Ray.

simon wrote: ↑Fri Jun 26, 2020 2:24 pm Blimey, that's a shock. No age.

What he ^^^ says.

Sad news.

A bit too close to home eh Dave . Mike was only a little older than me.

When I was chatting with Mike at Owston last year I think he said he'd only recently retired. That really sucks.

Yup.

I went out for an easy bike ride this afternoon, and I was thinking about Mike not being able to do this any more, it was very poignant.
My tweeter amp contains some parts he gave me for free , to mount the volume control.

Yes, Mike was simply a really nice person. I also loved his approach to his diy builds. There was nothing conventional with his hinged sections to facilitate circuit access etc. Mike was an unique individual. Such a loss to family, friends and all of us. He will certainly be missed.

I have been in touch with Gwenda, Mike's wife and passed on our condolences.

I was going to send her a link to this thread so she could see how well regarded Mike was here but on reflection I decided not too as I thought some of the posts might be upsetting for her. Instead I cut and pasted excerpts into the mail I sent. For your information I copied the contents of the mail into a document, which I have attached.

Thanks for that Ray.

Very sad news. Only met him at the last Owston and he was a lovely person to chat with and exchange ideas on here too.

Sad news indeed

Yes very sad indeed, I liked him enormously tho didn't know him all that well.

jack wrote: ↑Fri Jun 26, 2020 6:17 pm When I was coming up to 50, a fit colleague with a similar profile to me had serious angina and ended up with a multiple bypass - completely unexpected.
He convinced me to have a proper checkup every few years - not just the big C, but cardio too...

What would you have done though Nick ? I have had lots of tests, for various reasons in last 3 years.
There are a bunch of blood tests normally done, but I doubt they would say for sure you had eg. atherosclerosis. Testing CRP and cholesterol levels and blood pressure will not tell you this.
You'd probably need a CT scan, and this would be a private health-care option might be also hard to persuade them to do.
ECG should see something if it was genetic or chronic. Again, you won't get this on NHS unless you had some sort of crisis.

But there's the problem of A-Fib ( Atrial Fibrillation ) that concerns me. This is an intermittent fault that may not show up even on an ECG under normal conditions. There's evidence ( though not currently proof ) that low magnesium is a big risk factor for this. Magnesium can be low in long-term athletes and is known to drop for up to 2-3 days after hard exercise. The normal ( serum ) test is poor, it's often normal when body magnesium is low, this was certainly the case for me. I would add RBC Magnesium as an important test for those of us in this age group who have a history of hard exercise.

I had real-time ultrasound scans of my heart plus ECG. As a result of the Bosphorus swim I was required to have a major check up which concluded that I was fitter & physically in better shape than most people 20 years younger than me. Of course they could miss something - I still have major checkups every year and various other tests inbetween.

It's mostly about getting to potential problems early when they are possibly easier to deal with. Watching your heart in great detail as it pumps away is something else - one of the main things they look for there is leaky valves.

And yes, it's not all NHS.

Can I respectfully suggest that this thread is not the place for these posts. We have lost a frend and this should be about him, not us.

Ray

Ray P wrote: ↑Sun Jun 28, 2020 7:48 am Can I respectfully suggest that this thread is not the place for these posts. We have lost a frend and this should be about him, not us.

Ray

Can I also point out Ray that for all we know the idea of bike riding as you mentioned in the letter may also be a upsetting topic for his family as they may regard that as contributory factor.

I can't imagine that the posts here would be seen as anything other than what they are, sadness and the realisation that life is limited, and if maybe the sad loss can help others in any way it may be seen as a good thing and a fitting tribute.