A heart attack at the age of 33 completely changed Tjaart Sauerman’s life. In fact, had it not been for the light heart attack he had earlier this year, he might have died of a serious underlying condition that he was not previously aware of.

Sauerman was out of town when he had a light heart attack. Upon his return to Richards Bay, he was admitted to Melomed Hospital to undergo a few tests and scans. It was then that doctors discovered that Sauerman suffered from a life-threatening condition in which the heart’s aorta was dangerously enlarged.

‘I was very close to death, doctors told me. It was a sobering wake-up call, as I had no idea,’ he recalls.

Sauerman had to return to hospital for a complicated procedure in which the heart’s aortic valves had to be replaced with artificial valves. These artificial valves had to be imported from overseas and Sauerman waited two weeks for his new aortic valves to arrive.

On the day of his surgery, he was wheeled into theatre at around 7am and only re-emerged at around 5pm. It had taken the cardiac team approximately eight hours to replace his aortic valves.

‘I was on a ventilator for a day, but made a very fast recovery. Within 10 days, I was allowed to go home,’ Sauerman says.

Although he has to visit Specialist Cardiothoracic Surgeon Dr Sherwin Ramghulam every three months to monitor his progress, Sauerman says he feels ‘great’.

‘This whole experience has enriched my life. I now have a new lease on life and appreciate the little things a whole lot more.’

Sauerman is full of praise for the cardiac team at Melomed Richards Bay.

‘Thank you to Dr Ramghulam, Dr Sizwe Mthiyane and their team for saving my life,’ he says.