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Matters of the Heart, and other Failures

Matters of the Heart, and other Failures

By: Nathan
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About this listen

Welcome to Matters of the Heart, and other Failures— the brutally honest, occasionally hilarious podcast where living with heart failure takes centre stage. Hosted by someone who knows the ups and downs of a dodgy ticker firsthand, each episode brings candid chats with coronary nurses, cardiologists, and fellow humans navigating heart conditions. It’s part education, part therapy, and part gallows humour — because when life hands you a malfunctioning heart, you might as well laugh (gently) about it.Nathan Hygiene & Healthy Living
Episodes
  • E:02 - Three Cardiac Arrests and a Council Dessert: Scott’s Heart Attack Story
    Sep 30 2025

    In this even bumpier second episode, Scott Agnew takes centre stage with the full, jaw-dropping account of his heart attack during the pandemic - from brushing off chest pains with pints and fags, to walking in to resus, to three cardiac arrests in the back of an ambulance. It’s a story of paramedics turned pals, emergency stents made on the fly, and a mum who didn't know what to say.

    Along the way, Nathan and Scott detour into broken feet dismissed as sprains, family slapstick outside taxis, and the generational divide between “banging tunes” and “skibbidy-rizz.” Expect equal parts gallows humour and genuine emotion as Scott relives the night Ruby Wax’s laugh quite literally kept him alive.

    This episode digs deeper into the reality of living through heart failure and cardiac trauma, while never losing sight of the comedy in life’s darkest moments. It’s raw, ridiculous, and real - proof that even in the middle of a medical emergency, you can still find a punchline (and maybe a Jubilee cup dessert).

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    1 hr and 24 mins
  • E:01 - A Beached Whale in Vauxhall: Heart Failure, Hospital Stays & Lemon Daiquiris
    Sep 23 2025

    In this bumper first episode, Nathan Sparling and Scott Agnew kick things off with the full story of how Nathan found out he had severe heart failure - following a boozy bike ride, a slow-motion crash, and a very unexpected diagnosis.

    They cover hospital panic attacks, fluid-filled lungs, the politics of salt, and how ChatGPT became a stand-in nurse. Plus, a Bell’s Palsy scare in Turkey, missing Eurovision, and the battle between Beck’s Blue and 0% mango IPAs.

    This episode sets the tone for the podcast - part comedy, part therapy, all chaos - as Scott joins officially as co-host and the pair begin their honest, no-filter journey through heart health and life’s many other failures.

    Expect medical mysteries, emotional truth bombs, and the kind of stories you’d overhear in a pub... if the pub was in a coronary care unit.

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    1 hr and 13 mins
  • The Trailer
    Sep 20 2025

    When 35-year-old Nathan found out he had heart failure in the most random way possible, he did what any millennial with a malfunctioning organ would do: he started a podcast.

    Matters of The Heart, and Other Failures is part health chat, part therapy, and part comedy - where Nathan sits down with comedian pals, paramedics, cardiology pros, and famous faces to talk about heart health… and all the other things that have nearly broken us.

    Honest, funny, and probably a bit inappropriate - because if you can’t laugh about fluid retention, what can you laugh about?

    Follow now - episodes launching soon.

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    1 min
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