A Case Study on Cardiovascular System

    Mr. Chung is a 40 year old Chinese salesman, who works very hard and is under much stress to sell. He suffers from mild hypertension and is under treatment, though not very regular. One month ago, while jogging, he experiences an unusual, tight band-like discomfort, over his chest. He began to sweat profusely, cold sweat. He felt dizzy. Realizing that something was not right, he called his colleague who was nearby, to come and help him. While he rested in the car, the colleague informed Mr. Chung's wife, and drove him to the emergency room of a nearby medical center. An ECG done there confirmed that he had indeed taken a heart attack. Mr. Chung’s ECG on arrival at emergency room, shows that he is having acute myocardial infarction. The cardiologist there decided to perform an immediate angioplasty (primary angioplasty). Mr. Chung had total occlusion of his coronary artery (the blood vessel which transfers oxygenated blood to the heart muscles). This was treated with a coronary stent. He had chest pains at about 10am. He reached the medical center at 11.30am, and the cardiologist opened the artery and implanted the stent at about 12.30noon (2hrs 30mins after the onset of chest pains). He was discharged about three days later showing full recovery of the heart muscle that was initially damaged. His ECG was virtually normal.