How life-and-death surgery saved hospital worker in his 30s after heart attack on his way to work
- Non-smoker and non-drinker Marco Wan, who works as surgical assistant at Hong Kong Adventist Hospital – Stubbs Road – found to have blocked artery
- Doctors say heart problems are rare among young people, which can make a timely diagnosis difficult as symptoms can be similar to things such as indigestion
The Hongkonger found himself out of breath and experiencing severe chest pains soon after walking up a steep flight of steps on his regular trip into work at Hong Kong Adventist Hospital – Stubbs Road, in Happy Valley, in March 2017.
He was diagnosed with severe coronary heart disease (CHD), which occurs when plaque has built up in the arteries and is restricting the flow of blood to the heart.
In Hong Kong, heart diseases have been the third leading cause of death since the 1960s. In 2017, an average of more than 10 people died each day from CHD per day.
Men have a higher risk of developing CHD than women, at the ratio of 1.4 to one, although after the age of 80, women are statistically more likely to die of heart disease than men.
“I had been working at the hospital for 10 years and always walked up this long flight of stairs to work, but on this particular day I felt out of breath and rather unwell,” Wan says.
I had been working at the hospital for 10 years and always walked up this long flight of stairs to work, but on this particular day I felt out of breath and rather unwell. I had never felt such an intense level of pain before
“I had never felt such an intense level of pain before.”
