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Search forDerby man's backache turned out to be a killer heart defect
Monday, October 13, 2008, 07:30
Steve Dean had become a regular patient at the About Backs and Bones centre, in Duffield Road, Allestree, after receiving a gift voucher for the clinic from his wife Janet as a Valentine's Day present.
But when he started to suffer with increasingly painful lower back problems and pains between his shoulder blades, osteopath Paula Collier-Ward suspected that the problem was not just muscular.
She made a call to Steve's GP and the 58-year-old, who lives in Darley Abbey, was referred to Derbyshire Royal Infirmary for tests.
Days later, he underwent emergency heart surgery in Leicester after specialists discovered a major problem with part of the muscle in his heart.
Seven weeks have passed since the operation and Steve is now well on the road to recovery.
Janet said: "The specialists at the hospital said that if the heart problem hadn't been found, Steve would be dead.''
A patient at the clinic herself, she had given Steve a voucher as a Valentine's Day present to ease aches and pains from climbing.
Steve said his experience proved that people should be more aware of back pain.
He said: "I am a keen climber and climbers often suffer back problems as a result of bad posture, so at first I thought the problem was just muscular.
"As I began to feel more poorly I had my suspicions it could be something more sinister but to be diagnosed with such a major heart problem was a big shock."
Paula, his osteopath, said: "People should always take notice of back pain.
"Often it is a problem that can be treated and eased with massage, exercise and better habits such as good posture, but sometimes it can indicate more serious health problems."
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