41-year-old Yuriy Rak is a professional kickboxer, two-time champion of Ukraine, world champion and international master of sports. Before the heart attack, he never complained about heart problems. The attack happened suddenly – in the gym.
The kickboxer recalls that he was finishing the exercise when he suddenly felt heavy. Decided to take a break to recover, but couldn’t. Then I decided to stop training and go home. But in the car he felt sick again: he felt heat and pain in his chest. “It feels like I ran 3 km in 5 minutes,” says the kickboxer. He called his wife and recounted the symptoms. The woman immediately reacted and called an ambulance. And in just a few minutes, doctors took the athlete to the emergency department of the St. Panteleimon Hospital of the First Medical Association of Lviv.
Cardiologists performed the necessary examinations and confirmed the initial diagnosis. The patient’s coronary artery is blocked. Due to the acute disruption of the blood supply, damage and death of the heart muscle has already begun, so an urgent operation is necessary.
Interventions were carried out using the least traumatic method – minimally invasive. A special catheter was inserted through a vessel on the thigh and a stent was delivered to the blocked artery with it. This is a blizzard frame that expands the blood vessel and restores blood supply to the heart. Stenting was successful. The patient’s life was saved.
For two weeks, Yuri underwent rehabilitation at the Medical Rehabilitation Center in Bryukhovychy. He was discharged without any signs of heart failure, fully ready to continue active sports.
Doctors emphasize: Yuri managed to save his life because he recognized his critical condition in time and sought medical help. It is time that plays a decisive role in the treatment of heart attacks: it is necessary to seek help no later than 2 hours after the first symptoms appear. This is the so-called “golden window”. If doctors provide help during this time, the consequences are reduced to almost zero.
“Almost two-thirds of people who have a myocardial infarction die precisely because of late treatment. Every year, this disease affects more than forty thousand of our citizens. For decades, heart attack has been at the top of the list of the most common causes of death in Ukraine. According to the forecasts of the Ministry of Health, due to the war, diseases such as heart attack will make people younger by another 10-15 years. A heart attack in young people often leads to sudden death, so we urge you to undergo routine examinations and be vigilant about the condition of your heart!” – warns the First Medical Association of Lviv.