‘I could have been dead in a heartbeat’
Robert Booty from Beverley, East Yorkshire, isn’t your typical heart bypass patient. At 56, he had built up a thriving caravan business and was leading an active lifestyle, attending ballroom dancing classes and regular swimming sessions. However, this was set to change when a blood test revealed dangerously high cholesterol levels that would see him admitted to Spire Hull & East Riding hospital for life-saving surgery.
Robert began experiencing chest pains during swimming sessions. With such an active life, he put it down to over-exertion, as he regularly swam seventy to eighty lengths of the pool at least three times a week. With the pain becoming more intense, Robert visited his GP for tests. His cholesterol reading was very high and he was subsequently referred to Spire Hull & East Riding Hospital through his medical insurance.
An exercise ECG revealed that the cause of his chest pains was due to underlying heart disease. After just two minutes on the treadmill, Robert was informed that he would need to have an angiogram to see the extent of his condition. This revealed that one of his main arteries was 90% blocked, which was severely hampering blood flow around the heart. Due to the extent of his underlying heart disease, surgery was the only option.
Robert Booty comments: “It was frightening to discover how bad my condition was and that I needed such extensive surgery. I couldn’t believe that it was happening to me. I have always been careful over what I eat and I take exercise very seriously. I knew that my father suffered from high cholesterol, but didn’t realise how this would affect my life. There was no alternative, it was either surgery or a heart attack.”
Robert underwent surgery at Spire Hull & East Riding Hospital under Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon, Mr Steven Griffin. Healthy veins from his leg were harvested using minimally invasive techniques and grafted onto his heart in order to bypass the affected areas. As a fit and active person, Robert was told that his level of fitness would help aid his recovery post-surgery.
Mr Griffin comments: “It is clear that Mr Booty takes his health seriously, he eats well and does plenty of exercise, but he has a combination of high cholesterol and a familial predisposition to heart trouble. As he had a narrowing in the left main artery, I felt that the longer-term outcomes would prove better with a coronary artery bypass procedure, as opposed to an angioplasty (PCI). As a heart attack can strike at any time, Mr Booty was booked for surgery within a few weeks of consultation. We also took on-board the fact that his business depended upon a quick post-operative recovery.”
After surgery, Robert was back on the dance floor within five weeks and returned to work within two months of having surgery. However, his experience has changed his outlook on life. One year on, Robert is semi-retired and is devoting more time to his family. He is no longer prepared to take life for granted and he is due to take part in a sponsored swim in the coming months, the equivalent length of a cross channel swim.
Robert concludes: “Life is for living, not for working. I may have built up a thriving business, but without my health, what sort of life do I have? The team at Spire Hull & East Riding Hospital were amazing and I thank them for the reassurance they provided and the life-saving surgery that they performed. It has helped me to re-evaluate my life and I am keen to prove that I have beaten heart disease.”