Cyclist in Dubai survives heart attack — The National

In Dubai, 44-year-old Filipino cyclist Godfrey Abello survived a heart attack and a dangerous heart rhythm disorder after initially mistaking pain in his chest and arm for an upset stomach. As The National reports, the man was walking to work at Wolfi’s bicycle workshop when he felt a sharp pain. A recent examination had found elevated cholesterol levels, but he had not been diagnosed with any other health problems.

Diagnosis and emergency care

The following day, the pain returned while Abello was working on a customer’s bicycle. He went to Medcare Hospital in the Al Safa area, where doctors diagnosed a non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction, or NSTEMI. This condition occurs when blood flow to part of the heart muscle is reduced, usually because of a blockage in a coronary artery.

In the emergency department, the man lost consciousness and developed ventricular fibrillation, a life-threatening rhythm disorder in which the heart cannot pump blood effectively. Medical staff performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation and used a defibrillator twice. Doctors later opened the blocked coronary artery and inserted a stent.

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Lifestyle changes

Eight months after the incident, Abello said that he had previously cycled regularly, sometimes covering more than 100 kilometres over a weekend. After selling his bicycle, he gained about 10 kilograms, and his daily routine became less active. He has now returned to work at the workshop and walks for an hour every evening.

Medcare Al Safa interventional cardiologist Jan Niklas Strickling noted that early symptoms of a heart attack can be mild and are often confused with heartburn or reflux. According to him, doctors are increasingly identifying arterial disease in people aged 30 to 40 that had previously been more commonly detected in patients over 70.

The report also notes that cardiovascular diseases are linked to 40% of all deaths in the UAE. The 2010 Gulf Race study, which covered 3,197 patients at 65 medical centres in six Arab countries, found that 929 patients, or about 30%, arrived at hospital more than 12 hours after symptoms of a severe heart attack began.