He's a lucky man indeed

BY AMY MILNE

Last updated 05:00 09/02/2010

JOHN HAWKINS/Southland Times

HEART LUCK: Invercargill man Brian Henderson recovering at home with his wife Alli Hickey after he had a heart attack 10 days ago.

Relevant offers

Brian Henderson is a lucky man, and he knows it.

The 45-year-old had a heart attack and collapsed in the foyer of the Reading Cinema in Invercargill 10 days ago.

Fortunately for him, it was a good place to have a heart attack.

The movie theatre had a defibrillator, one of 50 donated by the Invercargill Licensing Trust in 2008, and it was used to save his life.

Recovering at his Herbert St home yesterday, Mr Henderson said there had been no warning leading up to his heart attack.

"I went for a run on Monday, went cycling on Tuesday night ... went kayaking on Thursday ... went surfing on Friday, then went to a chick flick (It's Complicated) with Alli (his wife) on Saturday and had a heart attack – so that's the worst thing I could have done." Fortunately, his wife and a nurse were able to revive Mr Henderson after performing CPR and using the movie theatre's defibrillator.

He was taken to Southland Hospital, and later transferred to Dunedin Hospital for an angioplasty and stenting.

Mr Henderson said he was a lucky man, and if it hadn't been for the quick actions of the nurse and his wife, combined with the ILT defibrillator, he might not have survived. He thanked Southland and Dunedin hospital staff for their "switched-on" care. Doctors have attributed his heart attack to a family history of heart problems and Mr Henderson said the problem had, hopefully, been fixed.

Heart Foundation Southland Heart Health Advocate Nicola Mason said it was an important reminder to others who had a family history of heart problems to get them checked out.

Information collated by the Heart Foundation showed Southland was among the leading places in New Zealand for cardiovascular disease.

In Southland, "heart warrants of fitness" were free to men over 45 and women over 55.

The free checks extended to those people 10 years younger who were of Maori, Pacific and Asian sub-continent descent, plus those with a family history of heart disease or known risk factors.

The Heart Appeal Week started yesterday and ends on Sunday.

Ad Feedback

- © Fairfax NZ News

Southland Times Homepage

Post comment

Name:	Required
Email:	Required. Will not be published.

Registration is not required to post a comment but if you , you will not have to enter your details each time you comment. Registered members also have access to extra features. Create an account now.

Maximum of 1750 characters (about 300 words)

I have read and accepted the terms and conditions
These comments are moderated. Your comment, if approved, may not appear immediately. Please direct any queries about comment moderation to the Opinion Editor at blogs@stuff.co.nz

Ad Feedback

News Headlines

RSS