A BBC star was just hours away from a fatal heart ππππππ€ (Image: BBC)
AΒ BBC star has revealed his shock at discovering he was just βhoursβ away from a potentially lethal heart ππππππ€, after undergoing a surgical procedure. BBCΒ Morning Liveβs legal expert Gary RycroftΒ told hosts Rick Edwards and Helen SkeltonΒ that he had been experiencing occasional chest pains, but had dismissed them as simply a sign of ageing.
He had decided to take on the Couch to 5k challenge and said he had never felt better in many respects. He said: βI think itβs typical of, dare I say men of my age, where we ignore things. We think weβre getting old. I didnβt wear glasses till I was 50. My hearing really is not as good as it used to be.
We use your sign-up to provide content in ways youβve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. Read ourΒ Privacy Policy
βSo when I started to get chest pains walking my dog, I live on top of a hill, so Iβm up and down the hill two or three times a day walking to work, walking my dog, and Iβd say every fortnight or so Iβd get a chest pain and it would it would pass really quickly. So I didnβt really think anything of it. I put it to the back of my mind as people tend to do.β
Gary admitted he only got it checked out because he was doing the Couch to 5k and wanted a doctorβs view, adding: βI actually did feel a lot better and I lost quite a bit of weight. So, I was feeling really good, but Iβd started this diagnostic journey with my GP. So, Iβd had an ECG. They checked out the electrics of the heart. That was fine. And then in January, I went to have a cardiac CT scan, which is kind of an X-ray of the heart to check out the structure and check out the plumbing.
βAnd when I got the result of that a couple of weeks later, it was really quite bad news which floored me, which was actually the main artery to your heart is pretty much blocked. And of course, you start googling and it was called the left anterior descending artery. Not very helpfully on the internet, itβs often referred to as the widow maker. So, suddenly I was in quite a dark place to be honest, and it was quite stressful for my partner Jenny and the kids.β
Gary said: βThe next thing to do is called an invasive angiogram, where they put a little tube up your wrist, and they fit whatβs called a stent.
Gary Rycroft was left horror struckΒ (Image: BBC)
βSo, I had that procedure. It was all done in about 40 minutes. It was pretty remarkable. And you know, thank goodness for medical science. When I came round from that, the cardiologist was kind of, you know, youβre a very lucky person, because you were probably hours or days from having a massive potentially fatal heart ππππππ€. So, that was that was quite a lot to take in.β
Doctor Xand van Tulleken said: βIf youβve had this procedure I mean they are safe. They are very common and Garyβs risk you know it is traumatic having these things. You get much closer to d3ath than you would want to. But if you can manage your blood pressure, your cholesterol, quit smoking, manage your risk factors, your GP will help you with all of that afterwards, you you you know Garyβs life expectancy is pretty much the same as it was before the procedure, which is fantastic. Thatβs the reason to go and have it done.β
Gary went on to say: βThis is a silent killer for people in their 50s and 60s and people will have lost people. And I wanted to talk about this because I wanted to say to people, donβt wait as long as I did. I had a very close shave. Donβt wait as long as I did. And if youβre living with someone whoβs concerned, encourage them to have that conversation. If somethingβs not quite right, itβs well worth checking it out.β
