Ras Al Khaimah: An Emirati man, who suffered a heart attack, was given a new lease in life after doctors at RAK Hospital operated on his blocked coronary artery within the crucial 90-minute window.
Jasem Al Zaabi, 38, had a blocked coronary artery when he was rushed in the hospital prompting doctors to immediately conduct a coronary angioplasty using balloon therapy to restore normal blood supply to his heart muscles.
“Time is of the essence in all cases of heart attacks, the faster blood flow is restored to the heart, the greater your chances of surviving and recovering,” Dr Mukesh Nathani, Cardiologist at RAK Hospital, said.
“It is recommend that people diagnosed with blocked artery receive clot-busting drugs within 30 minutes of arrival at the hospital, or, even better, that they undergo angioplasty with stent insertion within 90 minutes,” Dr. Nathani added.
Opening blocked arteries in order to restore circulation to the heart should be done within the first 90 minutes of diagnosis. Timely intervention limits heart muscle damage. The longer a heart attack goes untreated, the more damage occurs to the heart. Hence, door-to-balloon time—the critical minutes between a heart attack patient’s arrival in emergency department and when a blocked artery is reopened—is critical when a person is having a heart attack.
“Heart Attack is one of the leading causes of death in UAE, mainly because one-fourth of the UAE population is diabetic which puts them at higher risk for heart failure. Amongst Emiratis the number is even higher as one in three is at risk of cardiovascular diseases whereas prevalence in men is twice as high as women,” Dr. Nathani said.
Sedentary work habits, stress, hypertension and obesity are among other reasons for increasing number of heart attack incidents. Dr Nathani advised patients not to ignore any symptoms of heart attack and warned them from making self-diagnoses. He said it is prudent to seek medical care right away than to risk heart muscle damage, or dying at home.
