Even the fittest can have heart attacks

A competitive mountain biker who survived a heart attack is sharing his story as a warning to others. He encourages routine screenings for underlying cardiovascular conditions, in particular, people in peak fitness who consider themselves low risk.

Given his active lifestyle, writer and co-founder of the mountain biking online platform Tread Media, Sean Badenhorst had no reason to suspect he was at risk of a heart attack in early September when he and his 19-year-old son, Cade, completed a race together.

Dr Elias Zigiriadis, a cardiothoracic surgeon at the Netcare Krugersdorp Hospital, says that while lifestyle factors play an important role in cardiovascular health, it is not possible to rule out the risk of heart attack or underlying coronary artery disease without regular screening.

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Three of the four arteries supplying Sean’s heart muscle had become dangerously narrowed. However, this was only detected when he suffered one of the most dangerous and potentially fatal types of heart attack: An inferior ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction.

His condition was stabilised, but with the imminent risk of a second episode, Sean needed triple heart bypass surgery, known as a coronary artery bypass grafting procedure.
Three weeks and a frightening episode of unstable angina chest pain later, he was transferred to Netcare Krugersdorp Hospital’s cardiac intensive care unit on September 26 to prepare for his operation under the care of cardiologist Professor Nqoba Tsabedze and Zigiriadis.

The preparation involved stopping the blood thinner Sean was prescribed after his heart attack to allow his blood viscosity, how thick or thin your blood is, to return to normal and reduce the risk of excessive bleeding during surgery. Two pints of his blood were drawn so that his own blood could be used for a transfusion during the procedure.

Sean mentally prepared himself for the operation.
“My anaesthetist asked if I have close family, and advised that my wife, Joanne, should arrange to be with me before I went into surgery because it is such a serious operation.
During the procedure, Zigiriadis, assisted by Drs Patel and Kobus Bronkhorst, removed healthy arteries in a minimally invasive endoscopic procedure from Sean’s chest and left leg and grafted them into their new position to replace his three blocked arteries and restore normal blood flow to the heart.

During the lengthy surgery, the functions of Sean’s heart and lungs were mechanically performed, then his heart resumed pumping while he remained on a ventilator as he regained consciousness.
Under the care of cardiac ICU nurses Sisters Gift, Thuli and unit manager Victoria, the hours slowly ticked past. When he was finally off the ventilator and able to speak,

Sean expressed his appreciation to the nurse at his bedside. “I told her, ‘You helped me when I needed you, and I will always remember and appreciate you’,” he recalls.

Sean thanked the doctors in the public and private sectors who stabilised and cared for him before his surgery at Netcare Krugersdorp Hospital, and in particular Tsabedze, Zigiriadis, Patel, and anaesthetist Dr Pieter Bettings, for the lifesaving procedure. Sean also credits his wife and his son for seeking emergency medical attention as integral to his survival and recovery.

He concludes by emphasising the importance of being proactive about heart health, even for the fit mountain biking community.
“Book a health check with a GP, and ask them to check your risk of heart disease. Simple blood tests and an electrocardiogram could help save you from a heart attack,” Sean encourages.

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