Dad thankful charity scan revealed ‘silent’ heart attack

Image source, Simon MorrisImage caption, Simon Morris said it felt appropriate to take on something as big as Yr Wyddfa

A man has described how a routine cardiac screening led to potentially life-saving treatment and showed he had unknowingly suffered a heart attack.

Simon Morris, from Cardiff, said he had no reason to believe anything was wrong when he agreed to pay £300 for a heart scan after his daughter had been offered free screening by a Welsh charity.

"I was 55, I'd never had such a scan before, so I thought, why not… just get it done and out of the way.

"It turns out it was the best £300 I've ever spent."

Morris was advised to go to hospital and tests revealed he needed an angioplasty, external – a procedure to reopen narrowed or blocked arteries supplying blood to the heart.

Investigations also showed he had suffered what is known as a "silent" heart attack as he had not experienced any symptoms.

But, looking back, he said there had been warning signs.

"When I was going for big walks with my daughter and my son there were pains in the chest area which I just attributed to stomach issues," he told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast.

"But now… I look back and go, 'what an idiot. You should have done something about that then. That was your chance, you missed it'."

Following cardiac rehabilitation, he has since returned to an active lifestyle, climbing Yr Wyddfa, also known as Snowdon, aiming to raise £10,000 for charity Calon Hearts UK which provided his scan.

He said he was grateful one of its cardiologists who identified his heart problem during the scan.

And he has since been helping raise awareness of its work providing CPR training and free screening for those aged between 15 and a half and 26 and part-funded tests for those older.

"I wanted to give something back to the charity that had potentially saved my life, and if I was going to do something, it felt appropriate to take on something as big as Yr Wyddfa," said Morris.

A heart attack happens when blood flow to your heart is blocked. It can be life-threatening and needs emergency treatment in hospital.

chest pain which may feel like crushing or squeezing on your chest – the pain may also spread to your arm, neck and jaw

feeling like you have indigestion – you may have a burning feeling in your chest and feel full or bloated

pale, blue or grey skin – on black or brown skin this may be easier to see on the palms of the hands

The NHS said you should call 999 if you have any symptoms.

A "silent heart attack" is a heart attack that has no symptoms, external.

They're often only diagnosed weeks, months or years afterwards, during a routine check-up, or because of ongoing symptoms, like chest pain or breathlessness.

Silent heart attacks are common. They are estimated to make up around a third of all heart attacks.

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