A TV doctor has highlighted the ‘red flags’ for heart issues following the sudden passing of former Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond, who is believed to have died from a cardiac arrest. A post-mortem examination confirmed that Mr Salmond suffered a heart attack, according to the Alba Party.
Mr Salmond, who led Scotland from 2007 to 2014, passed away unexpectedly in North Macedonia on Saturday at the age of 69. He had been participating in an event at the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy Forum in Ohrid and collapsed during lunch in a busy room.
In an article for The Times reflecting on the tragic event, Dr Mark Porter, a GP known for his appearances on BBC Breakfast, This Morning, and Good Morning Britain, noted that around 300 people are admitted daily to NHS hospitals with heart attacks. He stressed the importance of calling 999 if symptoms such as chest pain, sweating, nausea, or breathlessness occur.
Dr Porter explained: “There are a number of reasons that people go into cardiac arrest, but a heart attack is the most common cause in cases that occur outside hospital,” suggesting that a massive heart attack was likely the cause of Mr Salmond’s death.
He also mentioned: “Like many doctors, I was struck by the fact that fellow delegates said he was complaining of a sore leg that day, leg pain being one symptom of a blood clot (see below) which can sometimes break off and travel through the heart into the lungs, triggering a cardiac arrest. This is comparatively unusual.”
He detailed that a heart attack occurs when one of the coronary arteries, which run over the heart’s surface, becomes blocked. This is often due to a piece of plaque from the artery lining breaking off or bursting.
Plaque build-up in the arteries can be attributed to factors such as age, genetics, lifestyle, and disease, and it’s a condition that affects most people to some extent. Dr Porter highlighted: “Heart muscle can’t survive long without its blood supply, and one of the results of this starvation is that electrical activity becomes disrupted, which in turn can trigger an arrest. The most dangerous type of heart attack is a blockage in the left anterior descending coronary artery, which supplies about half of the blood needed by the heart muscle. Known as the widowmaker – even though it affects women too – it is the type of heart attack most likely to cause sudden death.”
He noted that survival rates for such an event outside of a hospital are a mere eight per cent, increasing to 20 per cent if the patient is already in hospital care.
Dr Porter advised: “Not everyone gets warning symptoms like chest pain (which often radiates to the neck or left arm), sweating, nausea and/or breathlessness, but if you do, don’t hesitate, and dial 999. The sooner you are in the care of experts equipped with all the necessary resuscitation equipment the better. And the sooner the blockage is relieved the less the long-term damage to your heart.”
Heart attacks are significantly more prevalent in older individuals with established risk factors such as smoking, obesity, a family history of heart disease, type 1 and 2 diabetes, and high blood pressure and cholesterol levels. You can gauge your likelihood of experiencing a heart attack (and stroke) using a risk calculator like qrisk.org, as well as understanding how mitigating factors – such as quitting smoking or taking a statin – could assist.
Risk factors encompass having had a heart attack before, a strong family history, being over 60, being overweight, smoking, recent surgery/trauma, immobility (including on long-haul flights of more than four hours), pregnancy and taking certain types of HRT and contraception. Additionally, any serious underlying illness, including cancer, that triggers inflammation, clotting abnormalities and/or immobilises you in bed, at home or in hospital.