Heart attack victim urges public not to delay care during pandemic

A local man is urging people not to hold back from seeking medical care during the Coronavirus outbreak. Andy Maxfield, 52, was out running in his home area of Mow Cop when he suffered a serious heart attack. He was taken to UHNM’s cardiac unit for emergency surgery after managing to walk home and call an ambulance.

Andy said: “This was a really scary experience. I had been noticing for a few weeks that my heart rate didn’t seem quite right when I was running, but I didn’t really think too much of it. One day I was out for a run like any other and all of a sudden I started getting really pronounced shooting pains, like very intense pins and needles, in my left arm. My sports watch said that my heart rate had gone up to 165 beats a minute, which really frightened me and I just knew straight away I was having a heart attack. I sat down and after a little while, managed to lower it to 100. Unfortunately, I had left home without my mobile phone and there was no one around, so I had no choice but to get up and walk back home so that I could call an ambulance. It wasn’t easy, because I was in pain – it basically just felt like I had a gorilla standing on my chest.

“I was very anxious, but once I got to the hospital I knew everything would be ok. My doctor was very reassuring and within minutes I was in the catheter lab having a stent fitted. The moment it inflated, I could just feel everything opening up again – I had a blocked artery, so it was like unblocking a sink! The feeling of relief was incredible. I couldn’t fault the care I received on the ward. Everyone, from the domestics to the consultants, was just so friendly. It helped to normalise what was a scary situation and I’ll be forever grateful for the care I received.

“One odd thing I noticed was just how quiet the place was. I understand that people are worried about coming into hospital during the pandemic, but all the staff on the unit had PPE on and I felt completely safe. It’s really worrying to think that people might be too frightened to come into hospital at a time when they need it most. I had a close call and was fortunate – but it’s a horrible thought that someone else might not be, especially if it could be avoided. I would really urge people not to hold back from getting help as soon as they realise something is wrong.”

UHNM’s cardiac team is now advising people that staff are here and ready to treat all patients who require urgent care and the hospital is safe for patients who need treatment.

Dr Ashish Patwala, Consultant Cardiologist, said: “Usually we are a very busy unit, but over the last few weeks we have seen a significant reduction in the numbers of people we are treating and this worries us a great deal. We are very concerned that people are putting off going to their GPs and coming into hospital because of fear around Coronavirus.

“We want to reassure people that all possible precautions are being taken at UHNM and this includes our staff wearing appropriate PPE. We want people to come to us if they feel they have a problem, and to know that they will be safe if they do so. Generally, heart attacks themselves happen quite suddenly, but the actual thing which causes them to happen, such as a blocked artery, will give warning signs prior to the event, so it’s important to be aware of what these warning signs* are – and definitely not to hold back getting things checked out. We want to urge people not to delay if they feel they need medical help, and that includes during the Coronavirus outbreak.”

Andy is now back at home and recovering well. A keen marathon runner, he would regularly cover between 40 and 50 miles-per-week at full fitness. For now, he is enjoying getting out on his mountain bike.

Symptoms of a heart attack can include:

• Chest pain – a sensation of pressure, tightness or squeezing in the centre of your chest
  

• Pain in other parts of the body – it can feel as if the pain is travelling from your chest to your arms (usually the left arm is affected, but it can affect both arms), jaw, neck, back and tummy (abdomen)

• Feeling lightheaded or dizzy

• Sweating

• Shortness of breath

• Feeling sick (nausea) or being sick (vomiting)

• An overwhelming sense of anxiety (similar to having a panic attack) Coughing or wheezing

Although the chest pain is often severe, some people may only experience minor pain, similar to indigestion. In some cases, there may not be any chest pain at all, especially in women, older people, and people who have diabetes.

It is the overall pattern of symptoms that helps to determine whether you are having a heart attack.