The man with a real heart of stone

A MAN who went into A&E complaining of chest pain and difficulty breathing had to be rushed into surgery when a scan found a 4in piece of cement lodged in his heart.

It turned out that a week before the 56-year-old had a spinal operation known as kyphoplasty, which involves injecting a special type of medical cement to support damaged vertebrae.

Clinicians who published their findings in the New England Medical Journal believe cement leaked into the patient’s veins, where it hardened and travelled to his heart. This can happen in rare cases, and usually causes just a blockage in a blood vessel.