This message saves lives

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This message saves lives.

What would you do if you thought you were having a heart attack in the next half-hour ?

Brian May: This message saves lives … 27 May 2020
https://youtu.be/CjGuJ7Pg1ek

Hello Beautiful People

Tonight I have a message which is probably a lot more important than the message about my medical adventures but I thank you again for taking them so seriously and giving me such great encouragement.

This is about what I’ve learned from my heart condition adventure.

Now I was pretty scared of the whole thing, you know. I was very nervous about the idea of surgery to the heart and whatever, and I think a lot of people out there are the same. You think: “Well I don’t really want to get involved in any heart operations or anything,so maybe I’ll just stay here”, and of course NOW there is a great additional reason to be nervous because of the coronavirus and a lot of people are very reluctant to commit themselves to hospital because they’re afraid of getting the virus.

So I’m here to give you a message from actually from the Harefields, Harefield Hospital, which was the amazing place that I went to, to be treated. Harefield Hospital is part of the NHS Emergency Heart Care Treatment scheme. Harefield and Brompton are sister hospitals, and Bart’s, covers the other part half of London, but Dr Jonathan Hill was with me today, and he said, well virtually with me, and he said: “Please put the message out there. It’s incredibly safe. We’ve gone to incredible lengths to make sure that the Emergency Heart Care System is safe, so DO NOT be afraid of coming into hospital”, and he’s telling me that apparently there are so many people out there who are having heart attacks, or suspected heart attacks, and not calling 999 – not going into hospital – and by the time they get there, the complications make it impossible to save them.

It’s a huge problem. The non-coronavirus death situation at the moment is actually about as big as the coronavirus death toll, so it really needs looking at. Message is simple. If you think you’re having a heart attack, don’t hesitate for a second. Call 999. Ask for the Emergency Service and make sure you get into the Heart Care System immediately.

I’m talking about London, of course, but I’m sure very similar things apply elsewhere. This is London and Dr Hill says there is the 24/7 service there. They don’t turn anyone away. People arrive in helicopters, ambulances, the whole time, Some of them even arrive in a white Rolls Royce. They can all get seen the same. They go straight in, and the other thing I have to say is what I’ve learnt is the incredible angioplasty treatment is unbelievable, and of course it’s been refined very much in recent years and the success rate of it is incredibly high now and totally comparable with the open-heart surgery, which for so many years was the supreme thing.

So I had my three stents put in. It took about an hour and a bit and the next day I walked from the hospital with no ill effects whatsoever, except for the damn leg pain, which is something completely different – what I’m still wrestling with – but this is great. You have to do stuff afterwards. I mean you have to take a lot of pills and stuff for quite a while. Here they are (shows packages), you know, but it’s a small price to pay.

DON’T LEAVE IT – If you think you’re having a heart attack, get in the system, get seen straight away and the system will take care of you.

Okay. That’s my message for today.

God bless you all and I hope you’re all rehabilitating like me.

Bri

@ brianmay.com