Farm Doctor: Could you recognise heart attack symptoms?

It is no secret that farmers can be notoriously bad at seeking help when something is wrong.

Often working long and solitary hours, health and wellbeing concerns are left unvoiced, and, for many, a stigma still exists around reaching out for help.

See also: Farm Doctor: Breaking down barriers to men’s health

Here, to separate myth from fact, farmer’s daughter and qualified doctor Camilla Baker has teamed up with Farmers Weekly to tackle common medical concerns and promote good health among the nation’s farmers.

“I may not know the difference between a drill and a cultivator,” she says. “And I don’t have a clue about dairy or sheep farming, but I do know about common medical conditions and how early recognition and treatment can save lives.”

What is heart disease?

The latest figures from the British Heart Foundation reveal that each year in the UK, about 66,000 people die from heart disease. This is an umbrella term often used to describe a group of disorders affecting the heart. 

Camilla explains: “As doctors, we tend to use complex words to mean more general things. When talking about the heart, you will often hear the word ‘cardiovascular’, which is the medical term for the vessels in the heart.

“When these vessels get blocked or narrowed, blood and oxygen cannot travel around the heart, which leads to stress in the cells. This can lead to angina or a heart attack.”

Symptoms 

Angina is the term used to describe the pain or uncomfortable feeling in your chest when the blood flow is reduced.

“This can present itself in different ways for different people,” says Camilla.

“However, the most common sensations are a pressure, tightness or squeezing in your chest – some people describe it as an elephant sitting on their chest -–  or perhaps a heifer is more fitting!

“You might also feel this sensation in your shoulders, arms, neck or jaw.

“Generally, it will ease after a few seconds or when you rest. It is often felt with exercise, walking up hill or when doing physical tasks.”

A heart attack, or acute coronary syndrome, differs from angina, and occurs when there is a sudden lack of blood flow to a part of the heart.

“It’s essentially the heart cells screaming that they have no oxygen,” says Camilla.

“The most common sign is chest pain that comes on suddenly and doesn’t go away.

“It might initially feel like indigestion. Sometimes the pain feels as though it is travelling up to your neck, down your arm (specifically your left) and you may feel numbness in your hand or fingers. You may also feel sick, sweaty, lightheaded or short of breath.”

If this happens, it is really important that you alert somebody and call 999 for help.

Risk factors

Many factors can put us at risk of heart disease, angina and heart attack, some of which we can control, while others we cannot, says Camilla.

“We can’t control our family history of heart disease, our age, or our ethnic background, but we can strive for a healthy lifestyle.

“Farmers are some of the most active people in the country. But it is important to maintain a healthy weight and avoid foods and drinks that may lead to high cholesterol.

“As a doctor, I couldn’t talk about these problems without mentioning smoking.

“This is one of the leading causes of atherosclerosis, which is plaque build-up in the blood vessels, and puts you at a significantly higher risk of heart disease.”

When to call for help

If you are experiencing discomfort in your chest as described, Camilla advises seeking advice from your doctor.

“If the pain comes on and settles after a few seconds, but happens often, it is important to book an appointment with your GP or use 111,” she says.

“If the pain comes on suddenly, doesn’t settle after a few seconds, and you have any other feelings described above, then stop what you’re doing, alert others around you and call 999 immediately.

“Early recognition of these symptoms in you or someone you work with can make the difference between life long heart damage and even life or death.”

Arable farmer Paul Baker didn’t recognise the symptoms

Camilla’s father, Paul Baker, an arable farmer from Shropshire, had a heart attack in 2021 that had a huge impact on his life and livelihood.

Paul was slim, fit and generally in good health. He had no reason to suspect that he was having a heart attack, but had presented many of the common symptoms without recognising them.

Paul Baker © Camilla Baker

Sudden chest pain

“I was running 500 acres on my own and just doing a normal day’s work out on the farm. I think we were calibrating a sprayer,” he recalls.

“I came in at lunchtime and had a quick sandwich, and my wife was going out to lunch and asked me to run her down.

“I got in the car and felt like I had a bit of indigestion, and I was holding my chest. My wife is a nurse and asked if I was alright, and I kept saying, ‘I’ll be alright, I’ll be fine’.

“As I was driving back, my chest pains were getting tighter and tighter. I got back home as quick as I could and lay on the settee in my boiler suit – I still had my boots on.”

Classic signs

After speaking with his wife, Paul explained that he felt like somebody was sitting on his chest.

She asked if he had any tingling sensations or pins and needles in his fingers, and quickly identified that Paul was having a heart attack and called for an ambulance.

“When my wife got home, I said, ‘I’ll be alright, I’ll just rest for a bit’, but the ambulance arrived and [they] did an ECG which confirmed I was having a heart attack.

“My jaw also started aching, and the paramedics said that this was 100% a tick-box symptom of a heart attack.”

Immediate surgery

Paul was rushed to hospital, where surgeons placed a stent into his main artery. “I can just about remember going into the operating theatre,” he says.

“The next thing I knew, I was awake and they had put a stent straight into me. It was like turning a light switch back on, I couldn’t believe it.

“I speak to farming friends my age and younger, and we’re all the same. You think you’re invincible until something like this comes along.

“I’ve explained the symptoms and most don’t know how to recognise the signs.”