Saved by an early warning
Prevention IS better than cure, so take heed and go for regular health checkups, even if you feel fine.
LEE* steadied his resolve and revved the pickup as he spotted the black sedan turn into the light industrial area.
It was an hour after the team had obtained video footage of the vehicle from the client, and he was certain it matched. He picked up the walkie talkie: “Mat*, they just turned behind kilang tiga satu, get ready.”
As he sped up and turned the corner, his vision abruptly blurred for a while. Before he could think about his eyesight, Mat’s pickup roared onto the scene from the other side of the road, forcefully pinning the black sedan with no way out.
Everyone from the vehicles jumped out with this sudden escalation. One of the two men from the black sedan headed for Mat, but Lee sprinted and tackled him to the ground.
Seeing that they were outnumbered by Lee’s team, the other robber surrendered.
Mat grinned thankfully and reported to his boss that the stolen goods were still in the car.
A good end to another busy day for the private security contractor, but as Lee drove back to Klang (in Selangor), he just could not shake off the worrying thought of the blurred vision that had been occurring at greater frequency over the past two weeks.
Though he thought it was probably nothing, the tough, well-built man in his 40s instinctively decided it was better to have it checked.
He was in the vicinity of a hospital then and decided to turn in. Luck was on his side and he got an immediate appointment for a long-overdue health screening.
During his consultation with the attending doctor after a series of tests, he noticed that the doctor’s expression changed as he reviewed the results.
The doctor explained that he spotted something odd about his ECG (electrocardiogram) readings. The abnormal pattern indicated he was potentially having a myocardial infarction, more commonly known as a heart attack.
A cardiologist was consulted immediately and confirmed the diagnosis. Lee was immediately admitted to the Coronary Care Unit (CCU) for an angioplasty, a procedure done to widen narrowed or obstructed arteries and veins.
As he was being rolled into the operating theatre, Lee wondered what would have happened if he ignored his instincts, drove home and just thought everything was fine.
Do you know your health?
Ever wondered what exactly is health to you? Is it just being physically able? Mentally and psychologically sound? Or having a bit of peace of mind that things will likely be alright?
You’ve probably heard of the adage “health is wealth”. With the hustle and bustle of modern day living, it seems like most are equating getting and having more as a sense of wellbeing, sometimes at the cost of health.
The idea of holistic health denotes that every aspect of one’s life is healthy.
Some people say “you are what you eat”, pointing to healthy eating and the impact it has. There are many who emphasise on lifelong working out and staying physically fit through gym and sports.
Some also tout sudoku or mahjong games as a good form of mental exercise.
Many value emotional wellbeing and communication with the people they love as the most important things in life.
But what you don’t know could potentially hurt you, and it makes a lot of sense medically to know.
Health screening is an essential preventive care measure that can detect diseases early in people who look or feel well (“healthy” people) as a crucial part of staying healthy.
Early detection means better control and better outcomes for treatments, lowering the risk of serious complications.
This is true for almost all medical conditions, and though health screening tests are not diagnostic tests, it can help to detect otherwise dangerous conditions before they become apparent and life-threatening.
Basic health screening tests can provide information on your blood, urine, lipid profiles, liver, renal and thyroid functions, chest organs, and even hepatitis status.
Along with history taking and physical examinations, doctors can detect issues before they get severe.
Coronary heart diseases (including heart attacks) are the main cause of death in Malaysia, according to the World Health Organization’s 2014 statistics, followed by stroke. About 25% of all heart attacks happen without previous warning signs, and are sometimes associated with silent ischaemia, which are sporadic interruptions of blood flow to the heart that, for unknown reasons, are pain-free, but can be detected by ECG tests.
It is said a similar percentage of heart attack patients die before they reach the hospital and some suffer life-threatening complications while being treated.
As evident in Lee’s case, attention to early warning signs and health screenings can save lives and extend life spans.
Health checks should be done on an annual basis, and you should never ignore any vague symptoms and signs because they could be the harbinger of dangers round the corner.
Truly, your health is a choice you make.
*Names have been changed to protect their privacy.