WEBVTT - The Heart Attack: Episode 4 of 4

0:00:02.410 --> 0:00:06.119
<v Speaker 1>Now, Health Matters with Daniel Martin. Welcome back to Health

0:00:06.130 --> 0:00:09.629
<v Speaker 1>Matters right here on CNN 938, the heart attack. It's

0:00:09.640 --> 0:00:11.979
<v Speaker 1>a four part series. This is the final of four

0:00:11.989 --> 0:00:17.209
<v Speaker 1>episodes inspired by the loss of a dear friend and

0:00:17.219 --> 0:00:20.829
<v Speaker 1>colleague Chakan, who was an executive producer and director

0:00:21.200 --> 0:00:23.829
<v Speaker 1>on the body and soul TV series in a long

0:00:23.840 --> 0:00:27.329
<v Speaker 1>time employee here at Media Corp. He recently passed at

0:00:27.340 --> 0:00:29.559
<v Speaker 1>the age of 51 from a very sudden heart attack.

0:00:29.770 --> 0:00:33.189
<v Speaker 1>He loved the body and soul series. I've spoken to

0:00:33.200 --> 0:00:36.259
<v Speaker 1>his wife and told her that I'll be doing this series.

0:00:36.270 --> 0:00:39.000
<v Speaker 1>I sent out a form to colleagues at Media Corp

0:00:39.009 --> 0:00:41.598
<v Speaker 1>and friends of Shaan's to crowdsource for questions because I

0:00:41.610 --> 0:00:45.169
<v Speaker 1>know many people had questions about like, how can this happen?

0:00:45.180 --> 0:00:47.590
<v Speaker 1>How could it happen to somebody so suddenly at that

0:00:47.598 --> 0:00:49.009
<v Speaker 1>young age as well,

0:00:49.529 --> 0:00:52.650
<v Speaker 1>I couldn't talk about this with anybody else except Professor

0:00:52.659 --> 0:00:54.819
<v Speaker 1>Carolyn Lam, who of course was my co-host on the

0:00:54.830 --> 0:00:57.599
<v Speaker 1>series for eight of the nine seasons. Professor Lam is

0:00:57.610 --> 0:01:01.060
<v Speaker 1>senior consultant, National Heart Center Singapore and Professor Duke Nu.

0:01:01.150 --> 0:01:03.159
<v Speaker 1>And like I said, pretty much, the fifth person that

0:01:03.169 --> 0:01:05.639
<v Speaker 1>came in on the series. Do you remember? Let's see.

0:01:05.650 --> 0:01:07.559
<v Speaker 1>Let's go back to our memories. You came in for

0:01:07.569 --> 0:01:10.269
<v Speaker 1>a screen test with me to see, to see if

0:01:10.279 --> 0:01:11.790
<v Speaker 1>there was a, it was a chemistry read.

0:01:12.209 --> 0:01:15.099
<v Speaker 1>She was in the room. I know Daisy and Yvonne

0:01:15.110 --> 0:01:16.239
<v Speaker 1>was she in the room? I can't

0:01:16.250 --> 0:01:18.429
<v Speaker 2>remember. For goodness sakes. I was too nervous to remember

0:01:18.440 --> 0:01:20.360
<v Speaker 2>who was in the room. All I know is that

0:01:20.370 --> 0:01:22.459
<v Speaker 2>we went off script immediately,

0:01:22.470 --> 0:01:23.129
<v Speaker 1>immediately

0:01:23.319 --> 0:01:26.509
<v Speaker 1>through the script out of the window. And because I'd

0:01:26.519 --> 0:01:29.139
<v Speaker 1>interviewed you prior on my radio show as well, I

0:01:29.150 --> 0:01:31.440
<v Speaker 1>had submitted a list of doctors who could do it

0:01:31.449 --> 0:01:34.289
<v Speaker 1>and we took chemistry reads. And I remember talking with

0:01:34.300 --> 0:01:37.589
<v Speaker 1>our team including Shaan about who would be a best fit.

0:01:37.599 --> 0:01:39.830
<v Speaker 1>And I remember Shaan simply just saying

0:01:40.599 --> 0:01:41.179
<v Speaker 1>that one can

0:01:42.279 --> 0:01:43.319
<v Speaker 1>honestly

0:01:43.330 --> 0:01:46.518
<v Speaker 2>though Daniel, I mean, in all seriousness. Thank you. It's

0:01:46.529 --> 0:01:51.120
<v Speaker 2>been one of the greatest privileges and pleasures in my

0:01:51.129 --> 0:01:54.650
<v Speaker 2>life to have done that with you and with Shean,

0:01:55.059 --> 0:01:57.760
<v Speaker 2>I've learned so much so so

0:01:57.919 --> 0:02:02.660
<v Speaker 1>like communicating these important messages, right? But that's high praise

0:02:02.669 --> 0:02:04.139
<v Speaker 1>from Shean. That one. Can

0:02:05.089 --> 0:02:06.709
<v Speaker 1>I love that? That's high praise.

0:02:08.169 --> 0:02:08.619
<v Speaker 2>I miss you.

0:02:09.288 --> 0:02:11.570
<v Speaker 1>Yes, indeed. That's why we're doing the series. And let's

0:02:11.580 --> 0:02:13.559
<v Speaker 1>address many of the questions that his friends and colleagues

0:02:13.570 --> 0:02:17.859
<v Speaker 1>sent across to me. Somebody asked a stroke associated with

0:02:17.869 --> 0:02:18.729
<v Speaker 1>a heart attack.

0:02:18.740 --> 0:02:18.750
<v Speaker 2>Oh,

0:02:18.758 --> 0:02:25.288
<v Speaker 2>good question. Yes. So the underlying mechanism of a stroke

0:02:25.449 --> 0:02:29.139
<v Speaker 2>is the same as a heart attack in a stroke,

0:02:29.149 --> 0:02:31.250
<v Speaker 2>what happens is the blood vessel

0:02:31.535 --> 0:02:35.854
<v Speaker 2>dying, nutrients and oxygen to the brain gets blocked and

0:02:35.865 --> 0:02:38.625
<v Speaker 2>then part of the brain dies. And so that is

0:02:38.633 --> 0:02:43.654
<v Speaker 2>a stroke. So exactly. So in the heart, a heart

0:02:43.663 --> 0:02:47.375
<v Speaker 2>attack is when the blood supply supply nutrients and oxygen

0:02:47.383 --> 0:02:50.383
<v Speaker 2>to the heart muscle gets blocked and then that part

0:02:50.395 --> 0:02:53.994
<v Speaker 2>of the heart dies. So heart attack is stroke or

0:02:54.005 --> 0:02:58.103
<v Speaker 2>brain attack can be considered a stroke.

0:02:58.679 --> 0:03:02.109
<v Speaker 1>Another question says I've been told that I have X

0:03:02.119 --> 0:03:05.589
<v Speaker 1>percent blockage. They didn't reveal the, how many percent X

0:03:05.600 --> 0:03:08.600
<v Speaker 1>percent blockage. And I don't need to do anything until

0:03:08.610 --> 0:03:12.520
<v Speaker 1>it gets to a greater percentage. 60% or 70%. Is

0:03:12.529 --> 0:03:13.100
<v Speaker 1>that true?

0:03:13.970 --> 0:03:17.460
<v Speaker 2>So, yes, it is true that if you've got only

0:03:17.470 --> 0:03:22.000
<v Speaker 2>minor blockages that you don't have to do anything in

0:03:22.008 --> 0:03:30.190
<v Speaker 2>the sense of what we call interventions, coronary intervention, a balloon. Exactly.

0:03:30.199 --> 0:03:33.579
<v Speaker 2>But I don't want to get too technical there because

0:03:33.589 --> 0:03:37.449
<v Speaker 2>there is plenty that you need to do once you

0:03:37.460 --> 0:03:41.039
<v Speaker 2>know that you've got some blockages, which is

0:03:41.479 --> 0:03:44.020
<v Speaker 2>now is the time to reverse your risk. Now is

0:03:44.029 --> 0:03:48.929
<v Speaker 2>the time to really know what your blood pressure, cholesterol sugar,

0:03:49.029 --> 0:03:53.380
<v Speaker 2>stop smoking, uh, employ a healthy lifestyle, get your weight

0:03:53.389 --> 0:03:57.380
<v Speaker 2>to a good level, become physically active. Now is the

0:03:57.389 --> 0:04:02.100
<v Speaker 2>time that before it gets worse blockage, you can reverse

0:04:02.110 --> 0:04:05.800
<v Speaker 2>it with all these measures of healthy lifestyle as well

0:04:05.809 --> 0:04:08.820
<v Speaker 2>as medications to control cholesterol, blood pressure diabetes.

0:04:09.339 --> 0:04:11.630
<v Speaker 1>Another question that came in actually more than one person

0:04:11.639 --> 0:04:15.869
<v Speaker 1>asked this. I'll take this phrasing of the question. 51

0:04:15.880 --> 0:04:18.790
<v Speaker 1>seems like a very young age to die of a

0:04:18.799 --> 0:04:22.078
<v Speaker 1>heart attack. Is that the normal risky age?

0:04:22.450 --> 0:04:27.320
<v Speaker 2>It is young. Sadly. And our 2020 statistics in Singapore

0:04:27.329 --> 0:04:29.868
<v Speaker 2>show that the mean age of a heart attack was

0:04:29.880 --> 0:04:36.070
<v Speaker 2>about 70 years old. However, please, everyone out there, even

0:04:36.079 --> 0:04:40.368
<v Speaker 2>young people can be at risk. If you've been dealt

0:04:40.380 --> 0:04:43.149
<v Speaker 2>with the bad cards of genetics, with high cholesterol,

0:04:43.510 --> 0:04:46.649
<v Speaker 2>you could have had a high cholesterol since your twenties.

0:04:47.010 --> 0:04:49.700
<v Speaker 2>So that would already put you at risk by the

0:04:49.709 --> 0:04:54.250
<v Speaker 2>time you're 40 you exactly of build up of the cholesterol.

0:04:54.459 --> 0:04:58.929
<v Speaker 2>So everyone needs to be aware of the potential risk.

0:04:58.940 --> 0:05:02.750
<v Speaker 2>If you've got early symptoms, please seek medical attention

0:05:03.010 --> 0:05:06.328
<v Speaker 2>and then know your numbers. You know, remember that you

0:05:06.339 --> 0:05:10.950
<v Speaker 2>will not feel it if you've got high cholesterol. For example,

0:05:10.959 --> 0:05:13.019
<v Speaker 2>you need to measure it to know it. Speaking

0:05:13.029 --> 0:05:15.510
<v Speaker 1>of knowing your numbers, at least two people ask is

0:05:15.519 --> 0:05:17.868
<v Speaker 1>relying on our annual health screening enough.

0:05:18.880 --> 0:05:23.869
<v Speaker 2>Well, yes, annual health screening uh for an average person

0:05:23.920 --> 0:05:28.390
<v Speaker 2>would include, I think all the lipids and um, lipids,

0:05:28.399 --> 0:05:32.149
<v Speaker 2>which is cholesterol as well as diabetes screen,

0:05:34.589 --> 0:05:34.618
<v Speaker 1>right?

0:05:35.170 --> 0:05:37.730
<v Speaker 2>No, that's looking for the risk factors though. And that

0:05:37.738 --> 0:05:41.928
<v Speaker 2>is a very, very good place to start. Now, that

0:05:41.940 --> 0:05:44.789
<v Speaker 2>would be sufficient for the average. That's why we call

0:05:44.799 --> 0:05:46.260
<v Speaker 2>it screening, right? Because it's mass

0:05:46.345 --> 0:05:50.654
<v Speaker 2>screening. However, if you've got particular risk factors, like a

0:05:50.665 --> 0:05:55.605
<v Speaker 2>family history of early heart attacks, if you already know

0:05:55.785 --> 0:05:58.385
<v Speaker 2>that you've got some of the risk factors and you're

0:05:58.394 --> 0:06:01.454
<v Speaker 2>having symptoms, all that means you cannot just go for

0:06:01.464 --> 0:06:04.535
<v Speaker 2>the annual screen. Don't wait, please go and see a

0:06:04.545 --> 0:06:09.625
<v Speaker 2>doctor and get that running stress tests or even ac

0:06:09.635 --> 0:06:12.885
<v Speaker 2>T coronary angiogram, for example, and have a look at

0:06:12.894 --> 0:06:13.924
<v Speaker 2>the heart arteries.

0:06:14.214 --> 0:06:15.845
<v Speaker 1>Another common question that came in,

0:06:16.260 --> 0:06:18.700
<v Speaker 1>is there a link between a heart attack and the

0:06:18.709 --> 0:06:22.190
<v Speaker 1>COVID vaccine or our experience with having COVID?

0:06:22.459 --> 0:06:27.869
<v Speaker 2>Oh, this is a very, very may I say inflammatory topic, wasn't?

0:06:27.880 --> 0:06:28.100
<v Speaker 2>It

0:06:29.369 --> 0:06:31.558
<v Speaker 1>shows on this many shows.

0:06:32.320 --> 0:06:35.820
<v Speaker 2>Yes. Ah, this reminds me of our chat with the statins.

0:06:35.829 --> 0:06:38.178
<v Speaker 2>You know, you can find anything you want when you

0:06:38.190 --> 0:06:41.738
<v Speaker 2>look out in the internet about stuff. So here's what

0:06:41.750 --> 0:06:47.000
<v Speaker 2>we do know. Yes, there is a small risk of myocarditis,

0:06:47.029 --> 0:06:48.100
<v Speaker 2>especially in

0:06:48.209 --> 0:06:53.308
<v Speaker 2>younger men with the vaccine. Myocarditis is not a heart attack.

0:06:53.450 --> 0:06:59.350
<v Speaker 2>Myocarditis is when the heart muscle is a little bit inflamed. Ok.

0:06:59.359 --> 0:07:01.950
<v Speaker 2>So that's not a heart attack, which is the blood

0:07:01.959 --> 0:07:06.779
<v Speaker 2>vessel becoming blocked, right? So please don't mix everything up.

0:07:06.790 --> 0:07:10.309
<v Speaker 2>Remember that heart attack can occur without a COVID vaccine.

0:07:10.320 --> 0:07:16.459
<v Speaker 2>Now about the question of whether having COVID can precipitate

0:07:16.470 --> 0:07:17.549
<v Speaker 2>a heart attack,

0:07:18.029 --> 0:07:21.679
<v Speaker 2>I have to say that we are not very, very

0:07:21.690 --> 0:07:26.959
<v Speaker 2>clear what makes the heart attack suddenly happen on top

0:07:26.970 --> 0:07:30.529
<v Speaker 2>of a heart artery that's been building cholesterol over months

0:07:30.540 --> 0:07:30.970
<v Speaker 2>or years

0:07:30.980 --> 0:07:33.690
<v Speaker 1>because I remember in episode one, you said something acutely

0:07:33.700 --> 0:07:36.769
<v Speaker 1>can happen like an infection that could lead to that

0:07:36.779 --> 0:07:40.640
<v Speaker 2>collapse. Exactly. And that's where I was going to get that. Yes.

0:07:40.649 --> 0:07:41.640
<v Speaker 2>A flu

0:07:42.230 --> 0:07:46.140
<v Speaker 2>doesn't need to be COVID. Specifically any sort of inflammation,

0:07:46.149 --> 0:07:52.940
<v Speaker 2>stress response, sudden physical exertion. Yes, including COVID, but including

0:07:52.950 --> 0:08:00.019
<v Speaker 2>COVID among many other infections, influenza pneumonia can precipitate unhealthy

0:08:00.029 --> 0:08:03.079
<v Speaker 2>rupture of that, that heart artery, all

0:08:03.089 --> 0:08:05.350
<v Speaker 1>the more reason not to get the flu or COVID.

0:08:06.130 --> 0:08:07.730
<v Speaker 2>Yes. And that's why we get

0:08:07.739 --> 0:08:11.059
<v Speaker 1>vaccine. Yes, indeed. Thanks for that question as well. Uh

0:08:11.070 --> 0:08:13.619
<v Speaker 1>We had quite a few questions. Our dear friend Shukan

0:08:13.850 --> 0:08:16.980
<v Speaker 1>did die in his home. Unfortunately, and I was looking

0:08:16.989 --> 0:08:19.529
<v Speaker 1>at some of the the articles written about where heart

0:08:19.540 --> 0:08:20.950
<v Speaker 1>attacks are more likely to happen

0:08:21.230 --> 0:08:24.760
<v Speaker 1>and it talks about the home and surprisingly, the office

0:08:24.769 --> 0:08:28.600
<v Speaker 1>as a common location as well. How is somebody supposed

0:08:28.609 --> 0:08:31.369
<v Speaker 1>to respond? Well, some of the questions when they see

0:08:31.380 --> 0:08:34.109
<v Speaker 1>somebody experiencing a heart attack, what is your advice

0:08:34.119 --> 0:08:36.010
<v Speaker 2>immediately? Call the ambulance?

0:08:36.590 --> 0:08:40.739
<v Speaker 2>995. Ok. So if there's one message you get, call

0:08:40.750 --> 0:08:43.010
<v Speaker 2>the ambulance and then we have a little bit of

0:08:43.020 --> 0:08:46.289
<v Speaker 2>a saying when it comes to medical, we say mona

0:08:46.299 --> 0:08:51.049
<v Speaker 2>greets a heart attack. Mona is acronym mon A for morphine,

0:08:51.539 --> 0:08:56.968
<v Speaker 2>oxygen nitrates aspirin. So that's what happens when the patient

0:08:56.979 --> 0:09:00.289
<v Speaker 2>reaches the hospital. We try to get these things to

0:09:00.299 --> 0:09:03.890
<v Speaker 2>the patient to try to quickly repro fuse the heart muscle,

0:09:03.900 --> 0:09:05.929
<v Speaker 2>but just remember

0:09:07.000 --> 0:09:08.710
<v Speaker 2>time is muscle.

0:09:09.489 --> 0:09:12.830
<v Speaker 2>So get the ambulance there immediately. And if you know

0:09:12.840 --> 0:09:16.729
<v Speaker 2>CPR and if the patient has gone unconscious and you

0:09:16.739 --> 0:09:20.358
<v Speaker 2>cannot feel the pulse not breathing, please perform CPR.

0:09:20.369 --> 0:09:20.510
<v Speaker 1>How

0:09:20.520 --> 0:09:21.799
<v Speaker 1>do you know it's a heart attack? Do you know

0:09:21.809 --> 0:09:23.909
<v Speaker 1>what I mean? Like, it's a scary experience. You might

0:09:23.919 --> 0:09:25.869
<v Speaker 1>think that maybe the person is just fainted or maybe

0:09:25.880 --> 0:09:28.020
<v Speaker 1>they're having. But there are telltale signs though, right? That

0:09:28.030 --> 0:09:29.909
<v Speaker 1>you know that this person is probably having a heart attack.

0:09:30.250 --> 0:09:34.469
<v Speaker 2>Well, there is the typical, you know, hunching over and,

0:09:34.479 --> 0:09:37.710
<v Speaker 2>and they're clutching their chest, they're going very cold and

0:09:37.719 --> 0:09:41.359
<v Speaker 2>clammy and pain on the arm. Yes, it could also

0:09:41.369 --> 0:09:43.190
<v Speaker 2>be a pain in the arm that radiates to the

0:09:43.200 --> 0:09:46.190
<v Speaker 2>left arm is usually what we call. But central chest

0:09:46.200 --> 0:09:49.949
<v Speaker 2>radiating to left arm and then because the heart beat

0:09:49.960 --> 0:09:52.469
<v Speaker 2>can become irregular as it is dying.

0:09:52.729 --> 0:09:56.228
<v Speaker 2>The patient can then lose consciousness because the heart's not

0:09:56.239 --> 0:09:59.429
<v Speaker 2>pumping enough blood to reach the brain. So it, it

0:09:59.440 --> 0:10:02.390
<v Speaker 2>can be a heart attack. But listen, when you see

0:10:02.400 --> 0:10:05.450
<v Speaker 2>someone collapse, you're not sure what it is and you

0:10:05.460 --> 0:10:09.190
<v Speaker 2>cannot feel a pulse and the patient is not breathing.

0:10:10.229 --> 0:10:12.960
<v Speaker 2>The treatment is the same. Do CPR immediately and call

0:10:12.969 --> 0:10:13.659
<v Speaker 2>the ambulance,

0:10:13.669 --> 0:10:14.150
<v Speaker 1>they're trying to

0:10:14.159 --> 0:10:15.200
<v Speaker 1>keep the heart pumping.

0:10:15.210 --> 0:10:20.030
<v Speaker 2>Exactly. You're keeping the circulation going until the definitive treatment

0:10:20.039 --> 0:10:23.449
<v Speaker 2>can be done, which is either we need to restore

0:10:23.460 --> 0:10:27.570
<v Speaker 2>the electrical rhythm or we need to give mona and

0:10:27.580 --> 0:10:29.429
<v Speaker 2>bring the patient to a Cath lab and do a

0:10:29.440 --> 0:10:33.650
<v Speaker 2>coronary intervention. But in the meantime, it is so critical

0:10:33.659 --> 0:10:35.760
<v Speaker 2>if you can be trained in CPR

0:10:36.130 --> 0:10:39.270
<v Speaker 2>and know how to do it properly, that can save

0:10:39.280 --> 0:10:40.030
<v Speaker 2>lives

0:10:40.260 --> 0:10:43.179
<v Speaker 1>on that message, Professor Lam, I could not have done

0:10:43.190 --> 0:10:46.640
<v Speaker 1>this without you. Thank you for helping us over these

0:10:46.650 --> 0:10:50.369
<v Speaker 1>four episodes. Really, really talk in depth about the things

0:10:50.380 --> 0:10:51.630
<v Speaker 1>that every man can do.

0:10:52.640 --> 0:10:55.478
<v Speaker 2>Well, thank you for the privilege and, and as I said,

0:10:55.489 --> 0:10:58.469
<v Speaker 2>for the privilege of doing this in memory and honor

0:10:58.479 --> 0:10:58.570
<v Speaker 2>of

0:10:58.580 --> 0:11:02.289
<v Speaker 1>Shaan. That's exactly what it is all about. Our colleague

0:11:02.299 --> 0:11:04.228
<v Speaker 1>succumbed to a heart attack at the age of 51.

0:11:04.239 --> 0:11:08.330
<v Speaker 1>Very recently, he helped Professor Lam and myself um from

0:11:08.340 --> 0:11:10.770
<v Speaker 1>day one on Body and Soul, the TV series that

0:11:10.780 --> 0:11:14.039
<v Speaker 1>started way back in 2013. He directed pretty much every

0:11:14.049 --> 0:11:16.950
<v Speaker 1>episode and it was a long time employee here at

0:11:16.960 --> 0:11:19.260
<v Speaker 1>Media Corp. He leaves behind his lovely wife and the

0:11:19.270 --> 0:11:20.909
<v Speaker 1>darling young daughter as well.

0:11:21.309 --> 0:11:23.890
<v Speaker 1>That's why we were inspired. He loved body and soul

0:11:23.900 --> 0:11:26.969
<v Speaker 1>so much, loved it and, and I know that he

0:11:26.979 --> 0:11:30.260
<v Speaker 1>would want to help other people understand one of the

0:11:30.270 --> 0:11:34.989
<v Speaker 1>most common health conditions in Singapore that he sadly did

0:11:35.000 --> 0:11:38.130
<v Speaker 1>succumb to and that is the heart attack. I'm Daniel Martin.

0:11:38.140 --> 0:11:41.369
<v Speaker 1>And this has been health matters here on CN 8938

0:11:44.309 --> 0:11:47.969
<v Speaker 1>before making any decisions based on the information in our program,

0:11:47.979 --> 0:11:50.049
<v Speaker 1>please consult a medical professional.