Publication: Cape Times Issued: Date: 2009-03-11 Reporter: Angela Quintal

Shaik May Suffer Heart Attack, Warns Doctor

 

Publication 

Cape Times
Date

2009-03-11
Reporters Angela Quintal
Web Link www.capetimes.co.za



A top Johannesburg cardiologist believes that Schabir Shaik is a high risk for a heart attack, but will not pronounce on whether his condition is terminal.

The Star approached the independent physician, who asked to remain anonymous, for an opinion based on Shaik's medical report of September 2008. The report was written by two Durban cardiologists, Professor DP Naidoo and Doctor Sajidah Khan.

"I have no reason to doubt the cardiologists who are involved," said the heart specialist. "Dr Naidoo is a respected physician and cardiologist in South Africa."

He said that Shaik had never been a patient of his, and that his opinion was not conclusive because it was based on the two-page medical report.

The report gave details of Shaik's severe hypertension, or high blood pressure, and how things had got progressively worse for him since being diagnosed with the disorder in 2001, when he was 44.

It said the risk of Shaik's having a heart attack was high because of his hypertension, high cholesterol and family history of heart attacks.

As a result of the hypertension, he had suffered heart and eye problems. At one stage he had been on 13 different medicines, eight of which were to control his hypertension.

"It is unusual that so many anti-hypertensives are required to control his blood pressure," the specialist said.

He added: "As to whether his condition is terminal is also difficult to answer. Based on the above, he is certainly at high risk for a subsequent vascular event (heart attack or stroke). As nobody can with certainty predict his future outcome, this remains difficult to quantify."

The 2008 report also said that Shaik remained at risk of "a stroke... and blindness".

It said that "perhaps psychological factors related to his incarceration have contributed to his physical ailments, especially the inability to achieve blood pressure control".

Shaik could not be kept in hospital "indefinitely" and since the prison authorities were reluctant to manage him at the prison hospital, where conditions were suboptimal, he should be considered for medical parole.

For medical parole to be allowed, a prisoner must be in the final phase of a terminal condition, but this is not spelt out in the report.

View Part One and Part Two of the medical report.

See our Schabir Shaik picture gallery to trace his journey in recent years.

Related Articles

With acknowledgements to Angela Quintal and Cape Times.


A lot of people may get a heart attack.

This is the grim reapers favourite way of killing males, especially South African males with high cholesterol caused by poor diet and sedentary lifestyles (other than a rounds of golf and a few rounds with Robin).

But many people survive heart attacks especially those being monitored.

In prison it is very easy to monitor prisoners.

On the golf course, especially on the 19th, it is almost impossible to monitor anyone.

So actually prison is safer for those prone to a heart attack.

Being prone to heart attack certainly does place someone in the category of being in the last stages of a terminal illness.

Anyway, giving up those daily greasy pizzas with patent cheddar and smoked beef and nourishing a few plump furry freestone peaches and nectarines and the odd lettuce leaf with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar and a few minutes on the exercise bicycle or walker each morning and afternoon, followed by a hot steambath *1 and cold shower will do wonders for those systolics and diastolics. I might even get an honoury MBBCh or even MD from the Manto T Msimang Institute of Dietary Medicine.


*1      If a steambath cannot be found at one's local prison substitute for very hot shower followed by as cold as possible shower.

It either kickstarts one for a hard day at the salt mine, or puts one permanently out of one's misery.