They were celebrating the tenth anniversary of the creation of the rehabilitation service at the hospital. Survivor Gordon Anderson was one of the first to jump on to the stationary bicycles set up on the hospital concourse at the start of a 24-hour cycle marathon to raise funds for the service and for the British Heart Foundation.

Gordon is in no doubt he owes a debt of gratitude to the team that diagnosed his condition and got him back to fitness.

Last December a major blood vessel to his heart burst and his condition was so serious his family were called and his son made his way from his home in Tokyo.

But Gordon is a walking miracle and, after a 12-hour operation by specialists in Aberdeen, it was the rehabilitation team in Ninewells that built him up to fitness again.

He said, “They saved my life so I want to try and put something back in. When the chips are down the NHS come up trumps.”

Cardiac specialist at Ninewells Professor Stuart Pringle said cardiac rehabilitation was one of the most important parts of any patient’s treatment.

Cardiac rehabilitation nurse Arlene Brown said the hope was that the service at Ninewells could be developed to cover all patients with any type of cardiac disease and not simply those who had suffered dramatic events such as a heart attack.

She said programmes now being developed in Dundee encouraged patients who had been through the intense hospital-based programme to join programmes in the community that get them involved in lifelong exercise, which improves the outcome of treatment and the patient’s quality of life.

Also pedalling to support the service was Andrew Wilkie, from Broughty Ferry, one of the first to benefit from the cardiac rehabilitation service when it was established 10 years ago.

Andrew, who suffered a heart attack a decade ago, maintains a link with the hospital and supports other patients as treasurer of Dundee Cardiac Support Group. But he was in no doubt to whom he owed a debt for saving his life.

“The people in here are absolutely tremendous,” he said. “I mean that. I hear people criticise the hospital. What I don’t hear is people telling the staff how well they do.

“When I had my heart attack I was in this place eight minutes after my doctor made the call. You can’t get a better service than that. These people are absolutely dedicated.”

He said carers required a lot of support as well as patients and that was where the cardiac support group could help.

All proceeds from the 24-hour sponsored marathon will be split between the rehabilitation service and the British Heart Foundation.