Singer Alison Wheeler Regains Her Stamina After Pacemaker Restores Normal Heart Rhythm

As a popular singer and musician in the United Kingdom, Alison Wheeler, 54, is used to long days and late nights. Performing for hours on stage and then traveling overnight to her next venue is a typical part of life. Away from the spotlight, she and her husband, Andy, are the parents of two children and enjoy spending time together as a family. She has also worked hard to prioritize her health, following a healthy diet, taking daily walks and lifting weights.

So, when her stamina began to decline a few years ago, Alison assumed it was a result of perimenopause and midlife changes. She often found herself short of breath and needed longer to recover from activities that had once felt routine.

"Everything aches when you hit 50, so I just put it down to getting older. Little did I know it was a lot more complicated than that," she recalls.

But when her fitness tracker showed her resting heart rate had dropped to 32 beats per minute, Alison brought her concerns to her general practitioner. An electrocardiogram (ECG) revealed she had heart block, a condition in which electrical signals travel too slowly, or are interrupted, as they move from the upper chambers of the heart to the lower chambers. The condition can cause symptoms such as shortness of breath, dizziness and fatigue.

Alison's doctor told her she would likely need a pacemaker to correct the problem. Looking for a second opinion, she reached out to Asif Qasim, MB BChir, PhD, a consultant interventional cardiologist at Cleveland Clinic London, whom she had known for many years since their days as students at Cambridge.

"He initially joked that a heart rate that low could mean I was an elite athlete," she recalls with a laugh. Highly trained endurance athletes often have lower resting heart rates because their hearts pump blood so efficiently that fewer beats are needed to meet the body's demands.

"I told him that while I walk 5 miles a day with my dog and exercise regularly, I'm definitely not an elite athlete. So, he ordered another ECG to confirm the results, and it again showed the same problem."

After reviewing the findings, Dr Qasim agreed that Alison needed a pacemaker. Concerned by how low her heart rate had become, he advised her not to drive and referred her to his Cleveland Clinic London colleague, consultant cardiologist Christopher Aldo Rinaldi, MD.

“I was definitely concerned,” Alison says. “I asked if my quality of life would change, and he said it might, but the longer I waited to get a pacemaker, the worse it would get.”

Professor Rinaldi says while most people who need a pacemaker are older than Alison, heart block can sometimes develop in younger adults as well. Although some people can live with a very low heart rate for years, like Alison, they can struggle when they exert themselves.

"We always look for potential causes, such as a viral infection or an inflammatory condition, but in Alison's case, we couldn't identify anything that would explain it," he says. "Sometimes it simply develops without an obvious cause."

In January, Professor Rinaldi successfully implanted Alison’s pacemaker. She says she was surprised by how quickly she noticed the difference.

"I'd been living with this for so many years, I just thought everybody experienced the same things as they got older," she says.

According to Professor Rinaldi, most people with heart block experience significant improvement after receiving a pacemaker because it restores the heart's normal rhythm and allows it to pump blood more effectively.

Alison was eager to return to her active lifestyle after surgery, and her care team worked closely with her to fine-tune the pacemaker's settings to maximize its effect on her body.

Now, about six months later, she is back to doing cardio and weight training, walking her dog and, most importantly, performing again. While long nights can still leave her a little winded, she recovers much more quickly than she did before the procedure.

"I am definitely doing better. Before the operation, my family used to joke I was always huffing and puffing, but I didn't even realize I was doing it," Alison says. "My body was constantly reaching for air. They said it sounded like I was sighing all the time. Now, if I sigh, my family knows I'm actually unhappy with them!"

Alison is also sleeping better and plans to undergo genetic testing to see whether it might provide clues about the cause of her heart condition or indicate whether she could benefit from a different type of pacemaker in the future.

"I always assumed pacemakers were something people got in their late 60s or 70s, especially because I felt like I was doing all the right things to stay healthy," she says. "But Asif told me if your heart's electrical system is going to fail, there may be nothing you can do to prevent it. Sometimes it's simply the luck of the draw."

Before her diagnosis, Alison didn't know anyone with a pacemaker. Since sharing her story, she’s heard from others facing similar challenges.

"I've had many people, mostly women, reach out to me because they're frustrated they're experiencing similar symptoms but aren't getting answers," she says. "Like me, many initially assumed it was menopause. I encourage them to keep advocating for themselves and ask whether an ECG might be appropriate, because help is available."