The Bezold–Jarisch reflex: Hubris and (n)emesis in the clinical assessment of acute inferior wall myocardial infarction

Recently, the former editor-in-chief of Experimental Physiology, Professor Mike Tipton, conceived the new ‘Lived Experience’ section of the journal and introduced it with his own account of completing the 2024 Ironman event in Klagenfurt, Austria, to convey and reflect on the many lessons that can be learned from such an experience regarding integrative physiology (Tipton, 2025). In this issue, Dr Richard Godfrey from Brunel University London, also an active athlete, follows up with his compelling first-person account of atypical angina that ultimately progressed to an acute inferior wall myocardial infarction caused by right coronary artery thrombosis owing to an unrecognized underlying antiphospholipid antibody syndrome (Godfrey, 2025). The author's narrative of his personal journey during the recovery process, based on this autoethnography and his experience with cardiac rehabilitation, forms the basis of his hypothesis that high-intensity interval training might serve as a potential promoter of cardiac regeneration. Furthermore, the narrative sheds light on the underlying pathophysiology of myocardial blood flow regulation and associated cardiovascular reflexes.