Dr Chris Steele, 62, known to millions as the GP advising on health on ITV's This Morning reveals how while filming for the show he discovered he's suffering from a life threatening condition.

Dr Chris discovers he has life threatening heart condition

Here is Dr Chris's own incredible story of how he discovered that he had a life threatening heart condition while filming for ITV's This Morning.

Dr Chris sys:
They say there's no easy way to break bad news - but I never expected to hear it while I was on a routine day's filming for This Morning. I've always loved my work on the show over the last 20 years because it's a brilliant way of showing people how to manage and improve their health, and also get the message across about how to spot warning signs of any health problems. I truly believe it's helped save lives.

But filming a few weeks ago turned out to be very different and much more personal. Without warning I found my own health - which I'd always considered good - became the story, and a pretty shocking one at that. I'd decided to be a guinea pig and undergo a heart scan on a new cutting-edge 3-D scanner. The aim was to show viewers just how much science and technology could reveal about our bodies - I certainly wasn't motivated by personal concern.

The proceedure carried out at a private London clinic only took ten minutes - I passed slowly through a doughnut-shaped ring of the scanner, and an arc of X-rays, generated from below travelled through my body. I didn't realise at the time but the intensive photography was revealing that half of my main coronary artery - which supplies my heart with blood and oxygen - was blocked.

It meant I was at risk of a fatal heart attack at any time.

Minutes later when radiologist Dr Paul Jenkins told me the result I went numb really. It was such an immense shock that I could hardly take it in. The film crew were completely taken aback and asked if I wanted them to stop recording. I vaguely remember mumbling 'no, carry on' while Dr Jenkins told me: 'I'm sorry but it's serious and you need to be seen urgently by a heart specialist.' I was reeling.

Coronary heart disease can cause angina - heart pain - breathlessness or tightness of the chest - but I'd had no symptoms. Although for many years I've been taking medication for high blood pressure and raised cholesterol I was happy that both were under control. I have a good diet, don't smoke, am only a social drinker and apart from being a stone overweight regard myself as healthy.

So as far as I was concerned there was no reason to suspect that anything was wrong. But in fact - possibly in common with millions of other people -I was walking around with a ticking time bomb inside me. That's why I'm sharing my story - I've let This Morning film everything - to warn others that it could so easily be them.

In my case fatty material in the blood had gradually collected within the artery walls, which narrows it and deprives the heart of blood and oxygen increasing the risk of a heart attack. It's a common condition called atherosclerosis. The measure used to assess the build up of fatty material is called a calcium score because the fatty deposits harden and calcify.

In a healthy person the score should be well under 400, but mine was a horrifying 1,700. This meant my condition was worse than 98% of the population, and there was a 50/50 chance of the artery blocking.

I left in a daze really, after being told that Dr Jenkins had booked an urgent appointment for 48 hours later with a cardiologist. On the train going home to Manchester I rang my wife, Monica and told her it wasn't good news. We've been married 35 years and she's a former nurse so although she was upset she stayed outwardly calm. We've got four grown up children, as well as two little granddaughters of three and three months. Although doctors tend not to be dramatic about their health I did sit there and think 'God, I hope I survive to see my grandchildren grow up.'

Also my youngest son, Andrew, 23, is an international athlete hoping to run in the Beijing Olympics and I kept thinking 'I have to ok so that I can be there if he competes'. Suddenly you are terribly aware of your mortality and it made me feel so vulnerable.

Within two days I saw leading heart specialist, Dr Duncan Dymond he organised an angiogram. It's a 20-minute procedure, under local anaesthetic, where dye is injected and goes through the blood vessels into the heart to show up any blockage or narrowing. The results confirmed how serious my condition was.

Duncan said although one of the main arteries was blocked, it was still 50% open. To my huge relief it meant I didn't need major surgery like a heart bypass.

He's put me on 'aggressive' medication - a daily cocktail of six tables including angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and beta-blockers to lower the blood pressure, statins to lower cholesterol and aspirin to prevent blood clotting.

That should prevent further narrowing of the arteries and it might even improve the condition a bit, but that's not certain. While I don't feel I'm living on borrowed time obviously I'm aware that with this risk my life could be shortened but for all I know I could live another 30 years.

So I'm regarding it as a little problem that might never become anything more than it is now. Hopefully the medication will control my condition and reduce the risk, and although I can't stand exercise I'm going to religiously walk for half an hour every day as keeping active helps keep the blood vessels working. It'll bring my weight down as well.

I'll have a check up every three months and another scan in a year. It has given me a new perspective on life definitely. Initially it really knocked the wind out of my sails, and rocked my confidence. But I'm getting over that now and I'm determined not to limit my life and become a 'cardiac invalid' - but I do consciously try to avoid getting stressed about silly things because stress can cause the coronary arteries to narrow.

My aim now is to raise awareness of heart disease - the major killer of men and women in the UK. There are nearly 300,000 deaths a year, and many of those are unnecessary could be prevented by early detection and treatment. I'm urging people to have their blood pressure and cholesterol levels checked, and also to find out if they are diabetic - which can greatly increase your risk of heart attack or stroke.

It's estimated that one million people are unaware they are diabetic. Obviously it would wonderful if an EBCT scanners wasavailable on the NHS in a major hospital in every major city. But I've been given a lifeline thanks to it, and my hope is by revealing my experience and my condition I will help others. Over the past 20 years countless This Morning viewers have contacted the show saying the health information and advice has helped save their lives of those of their family and friends.

But now I believe the programme has saved mine!

Details of Dr Chris's Diagnosis
Dr Steele was seen at the private European Scanning Centre and scanned by a EBCT scanner (Electon Beam Computed Tomography): 68 Harley Street, London W1. Call: 020 7436 5755. A heart scan costs around £500.

TheFamilyGP.com Update
Dr Chris says : "I want to reassure readers that I'm happy with the outcome - it could have been a lot worse. I don't need heart surgery and my condition which is thankfully only a 50% narrowing of one of my coronary arteries, can be controlled with medication and regular daily exercise (I now walk for 30 mins everyday nonstop). Although one artery is 50% blocked it's also 50% open - and i'm grateful for that!"


This content was created on Wed 20 February 2008

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