Local runner has heart attack after race
Mr Spanny Souto, a long time local runner and a comrades regular, suffered a severe heart attack after finishing a road race in Johannesburg.
Mr Abie Smit a fellow runner and Chairman of Coal Dust Runners, saw the tragic incident take place in the medical tent after Spanny complained about chest pains, after the race on Saturday January 12.
“Cholesterol does not escape athletes or people living active lifestyles and thatis why everyone should be cautious,” added Abie.
The half marathon kicked off at 06:00 on Saturday morning and Spanny was apparently feeling ready for the long run. He finished the race with an average time, as he crossed the finish line just over two hours. The chest pains apparently started to become more noticeable, but he decided to walk back down the course to see how his girlfriend was doing and encourage her. She passed him as he urged her on. Spanny’s slow walk back to the finish line was apparently difficult, as the chest pains got worse. They immediately took him to the medical tent, where after an examination the paramedics insisted that he should go to the hospital as soon as possible however before he had time to stand up, the heart attack hit.
He was immediately rushed to hospital by emergency services and by 13:00 the same day he was having surgery to open up the clogged arteries.
Spanny is a well-known runner in eMalahleni. He has successfully completed 10 comrades and ran 12. He was once the chairperson of Run Free runners club, but joined Coal Dust Runners about eight years ago.
Heartplus.co.za a repertory health website states that half of all heart attacks occur on people with no history of cholesterol or genetic heart conditions. In South Africa, statistics show that one in three men and one in four women can suffer from heart problems before the age of 60. Everyone should be cautious and take steps to prevent heart disease later in life.
