A U.S. cardiologist who suffered a heart attack despite having no major health risks is urging people to learn the warning signs—especially the lesser-known ones—after his own near-fatal experience.
Dr. William Wilson, who works at Parkview Health in Indiana, experienced a heart attack in January 2018 at the age of 63. At the time, he had no history of smoking, maintained a healthy weight, exercised regularly, and did not have high blood pressure or high cholesterol. His only significant risk factor was a family history of heart disease—his father had previously suffered both a heart attack and a stroke.
In a video for Parkview Health, Dr. Wilson admitted he was in denial about his symptoms, even though he is a specialist in heart health. “This can’t be happening to me—I’m a cardiologist,” he recalled thinking.
His symptoms began while exercising on a stair machine at the gym. Dr. Wilson described the pain as “an uncomfortable pressing discomfort,” rather than a sharp pain. Despite his medical knowledge, it took him nearly a minute to recognize what was happening.
Adding to the symptoms, Dr. Wilson experienced a sudden and urgent need to use the bathroom—a little-known sign of a heart attack. “It’s very common when people are having a heart attack to feel like they urgently need to go to the bathroom,” he explained. “It’s part of the nervous system response.”
After leaving the gym bathroom, he told his wife what was happening. She quickly contacted his colleagues at the hospital, where Dr. Wilson underwent emergency treatment. A cardiac catheterization revealed he had a ruptured plaque that reduced blood flow to his heart.
Dr. Wilson’s experience has become a cautionary tale, even for people who appear healthy. “The lesson here is that despite everything we do to identify high-risk individuals, heart attacks can still happen to people who are considered relatively low risk,” he said in an interview with Today.com.
He now urges everyone to learn the warning signs of a heart attack and to seek help immediately if they experience symptoms. Early treatment, he says, is the key to survival.
