When symptoms of indigestion became something much more serious

When symptoms of indigestion became something much more serious.

After experiencing what he thought was heartburn, it was the rapid assessment and treatment Richard received at The Harborne Hospital that helped prevent a serious heart problem from becoming much worse.

Heartburn that just wouldn’t go away

When Richard, a farmer in the Cotswolds, attended a friend’s 70th birthday party, he had no idea it would lead to him needing an urgent heart procedure. “I don’t like chilli at the best of times, but I ate a sausage that had a little bit in it without realising,” he recalls. “That evening, I had really bad heartburn, which I thought was caused by the food.”

“I woke up at about three in the morning, and I thought, ‘I just can’t cope with this”

Richard

patient

Richard took his usual heartburn medication, but it didn’t help relieve his pain. Unable to get back to sleep, Richard hoped some fresh air and a bit of exercise might help. He decided to take his dog out for a walk around the fields, followed by a trip to the gym. His pain wasn’t getting any worse, but it also wasn’t getting better. “I still thought it was just the food,” Richard says.

Concerning symptoms

That evening, Richard visited his daughter for dinner. “I felt really tired, which isn’t like me,” he recalls. He left early to go home and rest, and woke up the following morning still with a feeling of indigestion. Given how long his symptoms had been going on for, Richard began to feel a little concerned, so he called up his doctor. He was advised to take prescription heartburn medication, but this still had no effect.

At this point, Richard started to suspect it wasn’t just heartburn, but was instead his heart. “I went to my local hospital and asked if they could check me out as I thought I could have had a heart attack,” he says. They immediately advised Richard to call 111 or go to A&E, but by the time Richard returned home, the pain had almost gone. Despite this, his daughter was still concerned about his health, and urged Richard to see a doctor to rule out anything serious.

Rapid answers to Richard’s worries

On his daughter’s advice, Richard called his doctor, but they didn’t have anyone available to see him that day. “Instead, they said that I should go to the Urgent Care Centre at The Harborne Hospital.” The Harborne Hospital’s Urgent Care Centre (UCC) offers walk-in appointments for a range of conditions. Richard’s daughter drove him up to Birmingham, and he was able to see a specialist right away. “After I explained how I was feeling, they gave me an ECG, a blood pressure reading and blood tests,” Richard explains.

Richard’s suspicions turned out to be correct - he’d had a heart attack. A blockage in one of the arteries leading to Richard’s heart had prevented enough blood from reaching the heart muscle, causing his pain and fatigue. “Looking back, I realised that I’d been more out of breath than usual when I was at the gym,” he recalls. With such a serious condition that had been left untreated for a couple of days, Richard was admitted to The Harborne Hospital and taken to a ward right away.

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Urgent treatment makes all the difference

If left untreated, heart attacks can lead to heart failure or cardiac arrest. To make sure Richard’s condition didn’t worsen, the clinical team scheduled an operation to remove the blockage in his heart for the next day. Under the care of Dr Farhan Shahid, Richard had two stents inserted into his artery. These are tiny mesh tubes that prop open blocked arteries, letting blood flow freely to the heart again.

Without Richard’s visit to the UCC and the rapid care he received, his condition could have become much more serious. “I swim every other day, and I keep pretty fit,” Richard says. “Dr Shahid said that that’s probably why I was alright.” After his procedure, Richard was soon discharged from The Harborne Hospital and could return home. Fortunately, the blockage hadn’t caused any long-term damage to his heart. After some rest and recuperation, Richard was soon able to get back to the active lifestyle he enjoyed. He made a full recovery, and is back to walking his dog, swimming and going to the gym without any worries.