Martin Sheen is an actor best known for his appearances in the dramas Grace and Frankie and The West Wing. He is the father of Charlie Sheen from Two and a Half Men.
However, the actor acquired a significant health issue while filming the psychological war drama Apocalypse Now, which would haunt him for nearly 40 years.
In addition to Sheen, the picture included famous actors Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, and Frederic Forrest. The story of Captain Benjamin L. Willard (played by Sheen), who travels by river from South Vietnam to Cambodia during the Vietnam War, is told in the film, partly based on the short novel Heart of Darkness.
Despite Sheen’s mid-30s at the time of filming, his heart attack caused the entire production to fall apart since he fell and nearly died before reaching a hospital.
Due to the film’s remote locales, a community doctor supported Sheen in maintaining stability until he could be brought out of the wilderness.
Francis Ford Coppola, the film’s director, had an epileptic seizure one night after convincing himself that he was to blame for the disaster, adding to Sheen’s near-fatal health ordeal.
According to the NHS, a heart attack is a critical medical emergency when the blood supply to the heart is suddenly cut off.
Coronary heart disease (CHD), a disorder in which the major blood vessels supplying the heart become blocked due to the deposition of cholesterol plaque, is the primary cause of heart attacks in the United Kingdom.
One of these plaques will rupture before a heart attack, causing a blood clot to form at the location of the rupture. As a result of the clot potentially blocking blood flow to the heart, a heart attack could ensue.
Hypoxia, substance abuse, and spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) are all less common causes of a heart attack (a sudden drop in oxygen levels in the body).
A heart attack’s symptoms differ from person to person. However, the British Heart Foundation (BHF) highlights several of them, including:
Pain or discomfort in the chest that occurs unexpectedly and lasts
Pain in your neck, jaw, back, stomach, or left or right arm.
Some people experience extreme pain or tightness, while others only experience discomfort. It could feel heavy or stinging, akin to indigestion.
Feeling nauseous, hot, dizzy, or out of breath.
Dialing 911 and requesting an ambulance is crucial since a heart attack is a medical emergency. The NHS suggests chewing and then swallowing one aspirin pill while waiting for an ambulance. This causes blood thinning and enhances blood flow to the heart.
The therapy for a heart attack subsequent hospitalization varies depending on the severity of the episode. The two fundamental techniques are as follows:
Medications used to break apart blood clots
Surgery to aid in the return of blood to the heart.
Sheen returned to the set three weeks after recovering from a heart attack. Sheen’s heart problems lasted even when he was 36 years old.
Sheen’s 75-year-old son, Emilio Estevez, posted on Facebook that his father had quadruple bypass surgery.
“The decision to operate on his heart was proactive, not reactive,” the statement said.
“With my mother Janet and the rest of our family by his side, and under the supervision of his exceptional team of cardiologists, doctors, and nurses, my father faced this task with remarkable courage, fortitude, and humility.”
“Unsurprisingly, he is doing incredibly well, has been released from the intensive care unit, and is expected to be fully recovered by the time he returns to work on Grace and Frankie season three on Netflix early the following year.”
According to the British Heart Foundation, coronary bypass surgery reduces chest pain. Doctors use blood vessels from your leg, arm, or chest to bypass (go around) a restricted coronary artery during the surgery.
One advantage of the surgery is improved quality of life, especially as it aims to reduce angina symptoms in patients.
Most patients require a hospital stay of six to eight days following a coronary artery bypass graft.
According to the NHS, most patients should be able to walk after three days, sit in a chair after one day, and ascend and descend stairs after five or six days.
Complications from a coronary artery bypass transplant are possible, like any other form of surgery. These are frequently small and manageable issues, such as an erratic heartbeat or a wound infection. There is, however, a possibility of major side effects such as a heart attack or stroke.
It is critical to note that a coronary artery bypass graft does not treat coronary heart disease. If people with CHD do not also make lifestyle adjustments, like eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly, their transplanted arteries will harden and restrict.
