Health Matters EBOP March 2018 | Page 4

Heart attack symptoms

Heart checks care for your heart

Whakatāne man Shane Brabant lost his mother to heart disease when he was at primary school . So when he heard about free heart checks at his health centre he got the test done .
“ Mum passed away from heart complications when I was young . I can ’ t really remember the details , but I ’ ve got six children and I don ’ t want them to go through what I did , so I had my heart checked .”
Heart disease is New Zealand ’ s single biggest killer . Statistics show the rate of heart disease among Māori men is much higher compared to the rest of the population .
In an effort to reduce those statistics the Eastern Bay Primary Health Alliance ( EBPHA ) is offering an incentive to those who have a free heart check ( Cardiovascular Disease Risk Assessment ) from now until 30 June 2018 . Those who meet the competition criteria go into a weekly draw to win a voucher to the value of $ 250 .
A heart check tells people about their risk of cardiovascular events , and what they can do to improve their heart health .
These heart checks are free for :
• Men aged 45 - 74yrs , ( Māori , Pacific or Asian from 35-74 years ) who have not had a heart check in the last 5 years .
• Women aged 55 – 74yrs , ( Māori , Pacific or Asian from 45 – 74 years ) who have not had a heart check in the last 5 years .
Shane was one of the lucky weekly winners . He says , “ Winning $ 250 was a bonus . But getting the check done that was the main thing . It ’ s not difficult , it takes about 10 minutes and it could save your life .”
To book your free heart check , contact your Health Centre .
Shane Brabant was one of the lucky winners in the EBPHA ’ s heart check competition .

Heart Check want to win

To enter the draw you must be :
Heart attack symptoms
If you ’ re having a heart attack , you may feel pain in your :
• chest ( can be mild to severe )
• jaw
• neck
• shoulder .
You may also get other symptoms , such as :
• sweating
• feeling dizzy or faint
• vomiting
• being short of breath .
You may not feel any pain .
If you think you or someone else may be having a heart attack , call 111 straight away . Early treatment can save your life .

$

250

• Male , Māori aged 35 - 44 years
• Registered with an Eastern Bay General Practice ; and
• Have not had a Cardiovascular Risk Assessment in the last 5 years .
The weekly winner will be contacted and announced on EBPHA ’ s Facebook page .

Conversations that count

Allan is an average kind of bloke – loves cars , being at the beach and fishing most of all . In November he did something a lot of men his age do . He had a heart attack . It wasn ’ t a dramatic scene with him clutching his chest and gasping for breath . It was pretty low key .
Allan says it was a burning sensation in his chest , a dry throat and a painful jaw over a few days . At first he thought he had an infection . He went to his GP in Te Puke , and then soon after he was on his way to Tauranga Hospital in an ambulance . In the Hospital ’ s Assessment Planning Unit he was feeling a bit better .
“ I felt like a bit of a fraud for taking up a bed in a busy hospital . I thought I should go home .” But blood tests were showing I ’ d had a heart attack and was exactly where I needed to be .”
Allan admits he was scared and nervous , worrying about what impact this was going to have on him long term .
“ Then my worry was had I had enough
conversations with my wife about what ’ s important ? Had I said enough things so that life would go on for others if I wasn ’ t there ?”
So , as Allan lay in his hospital bed he talked with his wife about what he wanted if things went horribly wrong .
“ It was actually a relief to talk about those things . To stop that internal monologue about what ’ s going on by being able to talk to somebody about your fears and concerns . I think it was quite therapeutic .
“ It ’ s important to talk to people you love about what matters to you .”
Allan recalls it ’ s not the first time he ’ s been quite ill . When he was 17 he got Guillain-Barre , a syndrome that can
cause progressive paralysis until you stop breathing . Back then , as he was being put into an induced coma , doctors told him he had a 50-50 chance of surviving . He woke up 28 days later and they said he was probably over the worst of it .
Allan says this experience was different . “ I think the biggest thing is when you ’ re 17 , you think you ’ re invincible and they say what might happen and you think - oh yeah . When you ’ re 58 , you suddenly go , I ’ m not invincible and I have to deal with this .”
Allan says hospital staff were great . During the Cardiac Rehabilitation sessions he went to after his heart attack they suggested he think about what he might want if the outcome wasn ’ t so positive .
“ I mulled this over in my head . It ’ s good to have that conversation about what you would like ahead of time . It ’ s not just for you - it ’ s for the peace of mind of the people you love .”
And now , Allan is back fishing and being at the beach . He reckons that men his age shouldn ’ t wait for a heart attack to talk about what ’ s important to them with their whānau – “ get off your backside and do it now !” He ’ s in the process of writing his own Future Care Plan .
For more information about Future ( Advance ) Care Planning , talk to your GP or Practice Nurse , go to http :// www . advancecareplanning . org . nz / or contact Ellen Fisher at ellen . fisher @ bopdhb . govt . nz