A dad from East Lothian was rushed to hospital for seven-hour emergency open heart surgery after suffering chest pains at work.
Alexa Hill hurried to the bedside of husband Graeme after he felt a "pop" before shooting pains spread across his upper body.
The 42-year-old was blue-lit to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh due to a suspected issue with his heart, but spent seven hours in A&E before a a CT scan revealed the dad-of-one had an aortic dissection and required an immediate procedure to save his life.
Alexa, 40, from Prestonpans, told how baffled medics had run a litany of tests before a junior doctor uncovered the source of the problem.
She told Edinburgh Live: "Graeme went to work as normal, feeling pretty good.
"He went out to pick up his lunch and felt a pop in his chest, got a little lightheaded and sat down in his parked car to let it pass.
"Then he made the decision to go back to his work so that he was with others in case it got worse.
"When he got back, one of the team recognised the symptoms and made the decision to call an ambulance. The decision that potentially saved his life."
The aorta is the pathway that carries blood away from your heart to the rest of your body.
An aortic dissection is a life-threatening condition caused by a tear in the intimal layer of the artery or bleeding within the aortic wall, resulting in the separation of the layers.
Doctors initially ran scans for signs of a possible heart attack, but their assessments showed no indication one had taken place.
However, Alexa said staff "sprung into action" when the cause was discovered, with Graeme immediately taken into the operating theatre.
"On arrival at A&E a team of nurses and doctors in an extremely busy hospital, tested for a heart attack. However, no initial test was showing anything wrong with his heart," she said.
"The pain in his chest was in his jaw and he had a sore head and after pain relief, it still wasn’t better.
"Seven hours in A&E later a junior doctor and senior doctor suggested that they do a CT scan as all other tests had failed to find the issue.
"Within seconds the room filled with teams, nurses sprung into action, surgeons appeared and within 45 minutes Graeme was briefed that he needed emergency life-saving open heart surgery.
"It was like clockwork, the skill and support of the teams all springing into action."
The dad then underwent emergency open heart surgery to save his life.
Alexa thanked hero NHS staff who not only saved his life but made sure the family were updated and taken care of throughout his care.
"Graeme required to have part of his Aortic artery replaced, which took over seven hours," she said.
"A dedicated team in ICU watched over him on 24-hour observations and made sure we were well looked after too.
"The care and attention of everyone in the hospital was incredible. We are so grateful to the NHS as in 2020 they also saved my life when I went through treatment for cervical cancer.
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Graeme is now improving well and is recuperating at home with Alexa and the couple's ten-year-old son.
Alexa added colleagues at the building supplies company where he works had been "extremely supportive".
She continued: "The whole experience was horrendous, the thought of losing my Husband and my son losing his Dad was unimaginable.
"However, the incredible support we got at the hospital was incredible! From all the information, regular phone calls, and extended visits, they even made it suitable for our son to visit. Every bit of detail was explained to us too and was so genuine."
You can find out more and get support for issues raised in this story from the aortic dissection awareness charity here.
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