When the Heart Shouts Back

When the Heart Shouts Back

You never think about your heart until it forces you to.

We just live with it ticking away, like background noise. It’s there, working quietly, doing its job. Most days, you don’t even notice it. Then one day it changes. Maybe it starts pounding so loud it drowns everything out. Or it skips a beat and suddenly you’re frozen, wondering what just happened.

That’s when your heart stops being quiet. It becomes the loudest thing you can’t ignore.

A lot of us don’t really look after it until something scares us. Maybe a doctor’s frown over a test, or waking up in the middle of the night with pain creeping up your arm. Or having to stop halfway up the stairs because you just can’t catch your breath. Before that, it’s always “I’ll be fine,” or “I’ll start tomorrow,” or “Just one more biscuit won’t hurt.”

We all think we’re invincible—until we’re not.

Your heart remembers everything. Every cigarette, every greasy takeaway, every day you said you were too tired to go for a walk. It holds all the stress you swallowed and the nights you stayed up worrying. It keeps going, patching itself up for years, until one day it says enough.

I’ve seen it happen to people I know. One minute they’re fine, laughing, making plans. The next, they’re pale, gripping the table, eyes wide with shock and fear. That look sticks with you.

And usually it’s only after that moment they start fighting for their heart. Sugar disappears from the diet. Walking shoes come out. Blood pressure monitor sits on the kitchen table. Salad replaces chips. Every little pain becomes a warning.

Why wait until the scare? Why risk it with the one thing inside you that never stops?It’s just human nature. We can’t see our heart working, so we don’t think about it. No pain feels like no problem.

Sometimes I wonder if we’d treat it better if it could talk. If instead of silent pumping it said, “Stop feeding me rubbish, I’m struggling here,” or “Could you walk a bit more? I need it,” or even “Thanks for the early night—I really needed that.”

Instead it whispers. Tiredness that comes out of nowhere. Shortness of breath that used to only hit at the top of a hill but now arrives halfway up. Swollen ankles. Dizziness you shrug off.

All whispers until one day it shouts.I’m not preaching. I’ve been guilty of ignoring it too. Too many days of “I’ll start tomorrow,” too many nights blaming stress. But something changes when you see fear in your own eyes or someone else’s. When your heart demands attention, it changes you.

Not overnight, but with small steady choices. Walking instead of sitting. Choosing food that fuels you instead of fills you. Taking a deep breath instead of swallowing more stress. Listening to what your body is saying.

Your heart has been loyal since the first beat. It never takes a day off. It will keep going until it can’t anymore. And when that day comes it’s the most terrifying thing you’ll ever face.Don’t wait for that day. Don’t wait for the kind of fright that steals your breath the wrong way. Your heart isn’t asking for perfection, just care. Give it that and it might never have to shout.

This June it was my turn to hear the shout. I was lucky. For now, I’m only on a blood thinner. I’ve been terrified for three months. I’m back with my doctor and have a heart scan in September.

Wish me luck, please. Thank you for reading my short story Marie381Uk