Greg Stafford shares heart attack warning

A heart attack survivor is urging people not to ignore the warning signs after a health scare that could have been catastrophic.

Greg Stafford had a heart attack.

A heart attack survivor is urging people not to ignore the warning signs after a health scare that could have been catastrophic.

In November last year, 73 year-old Greg Stafford drove from Melbourne to Jan Juc, and developed chest pain as he arrived at his holiday house.

“It is a trip I often make by myself and I felt fine in the car until I got to Jan Juc,” the retired biology teacher said.

“I pulled into the driveway and I felt terrible.

“I had a bit of a cold sweat, but there was no real agony pain.

“I just felt abnormal.”

When the pain didn’t subside, he drove two minutes to a medical clinic.

“The doctor did an ECG (electrocardiogram) and said there was an abnormality so called an ambulance and I was soon on the way to Epworth Geelong,” he said.

“As soon as I arrived there was a cardiac team ready to meet me and I was pretty pale on admission.

“It was all pretty quick.

“Within an hour of arriving at Jan Juc I was on the operating table in the catheterisation lab to clear the blockage in the artery leading to my heart and insert three stents.”

Mr Stafford has since had another procedure to insert two more stents into cardiac arteries to improve blood flow to his heart.

“My cardiologist said because of my quick action and quick treatment, I have had minimal damage to the heart muscle,” he said.

Epworth Geelong interventional cardiologist Thomas Yip said had Mr Stafford not acted so fast, the outcome could have been catastrophic.

“It was such a major coronary artery that was blocked that if Greg had not acted fast enough, it could have resulted in a large area of permanent damage to the heart or be potentially fatal,” Dr Yip said.

After his treatment, Mr Stafford took part in six weeks of cardiac rehabilitation, which included theory on heart health and gym work.

Mr Stafford said he was surprised so many arteries were blocked.

“I’ve never smoked, don’t eat much junk food and I thought I was reasonably fit,” he said.

“I was playing golf two to three times a week and my wife and I regularly ride 25km on our bikes in Melbourne and at Jan Juc.”

To celebrate his recovery, Mr Stafford is planning an overseas bike riding holiday.

Originally published as Greg Stafford shares heart attack warning