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Founder's Story
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For the Live Interview with John McGowan at ICI/PRO click on the link: Eric Adams enjoyed endurance races and participated in several marathons and triathlons. He completed 3 Ironman triathlons in 2003, 2004, and 2005. He signed up for his 4th Ironman in Coeur d'Alene in June of 2006. His goal was to set a personal record. The preparation and training was progressing as expected... |
| The day he was supposed to fly to Coeur d'Alene, he was told by doctors that his aorta had stretched to 8.5 cm in diameter and was about to burst. It was a complete surprise. There was no warning, no symptoms. It was scary to know that he was about to die and didn't have a clue. Needless to say, he didn't get on that flight and, instead of competing in an Ironman, had emergency open heart surgery to replace his aorta and aortic valve with mechanical devices. |  |
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Eight weeks after his surgery, Eric was determined to complete another triathlon. Obviously, watching his heart rate was very important in ensuring that he didn't cause future issues with the rest of his aorta. He was frustrated that his heart rate monitor didn't work consistently during his workouts. The watch wouldn't get a signal from the chest-strap. He used water and his own spit to try to get a better connection - but nothing worked immediately and consistently. |
| His wife, Melinda, listened as he explained his frustration. Concerned about her husband, Melinda began researching products that could be used as a conductor for the chest strap to pick up the signal from the heart. She found that there were several gels and lotions, but none of these products satisfied her. After a lot of time and effort, she found the perfect product for her husband to use. This product was effective and easier to use and didn't leave residue behind after use. Once they began using the product, they were convinced that other endurance athletes would appreciate the product. Her goal was to protect her husband's heart and perhaps others' too... ChestLick was born! |  |
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In January of 2009, Eric signed up for another Ironman and began his training. Within the first few months, he noticed that his heart rate was not behaving normally. This time, because Eric was watching his heart rate closely, he was able to identify symptoms that pointed to another possible heart problem. Eric visited the cardiologist twice - insisting that something was wrong. Finally, on the third visit, the doctor ordered a test that discovered that Eric’s heart hadn’t healed correctly. Scar tissue was almost completely blocking one of his three coronary arteries - starving his heart from its blood supply. He was weeks away from a surely-fatal heart attack! On March 30th of ’09, Eric underwent his second open-heart surgery to bypass the blockage. Fortunately, the surgery was a success. Unfortunately, it looked as though his plans for the Ironman in August would have to be canceled. |
As he recovered, he couldn't stop thinking about the upcoming race. It bothered him that his heart had stolen one race from him and was going to do it again. Eight weeks after the surgery, he asked his surgeon if he might still be able to do the race. To his surprise, his surgeon said to 'go for it.' That was all Eric needed to hear. With only 8 weeks to train, Eric created a rigorous training schedule that would put him in a position to finish. Throughout this training, he kept a close eye on his heart rate monitor. On every workout, his heart rate behaved normally. The eight weeks of training progressed without incident. As the race approached, Eric felt grateful that he was alive and had dodged two bullets that should have killed him. It felt good to train for a race.
On August 1st 2009 (four months after his last open-heart surgery), Eric completed his 4th Ironman-distance race. He was almost 3 hours slower than his last race - but he made it to the line. Again, he is grateful to be alive and able to compete. However, he is realizing that there are many athletes that aren't paying attention to their hearts. As he listens to runners, cyclists, and triathletes, he has learned that many don't even own a heart rate monitor. Many who own one don't use it consistently or aren't familiar with how their own heart behaves under different conditions. Many times, the reason for not using it is a general frustration with getting a signal from the chest-strap. For this reason, Eric & Melinda believe strongly in ChestLick and are doing what they can to spread the word about heart awareness. Being aware of heart rate at rest and during exercise may help athletes become aware of this invisible killer.
If you push your body and your heart, you MUST be aware of what your heart is telling you. Always wear a heart rate monitor during exercise! It may save your life!