77-year-old sets Guinness record as longest-surviving triple heart bypass patient

It further shared that Colin also has familial hypercholesterolemia, a genetic disorder that causes high cholesterol and coronary heart disease.

His first indication that something was amiss occurred during a run when he felt a sharp pain in the centre of his chest. Additionally, while walking up a steep hill, he recalls the sensation of an elastic band tightening around his chest. Upon the insistence of his wife, he visited a doctor. “Thank goodness I did,” he said.

He expressed his gratitude to Dr Snyder at Wrafton House who insisted on Colin doing an exercise ECG after his resting ECG showed no abnormalities. Due to the lack of an exercise ECG machine at the time, Colin ran up and down a flight of stairs until he felt a warming in his chest, which was the onset of angina. When another ECG was taken, his graph was “all over the place”, he told Guinness.

Colin aged 35 with his wife, Christine (Source: Guinness World Records)

It was in March 1977 that Colin went to see a cardiac consultant who inserted a central catheter across his chest. Then, he was taken to a different hospital for “wiring up”. “I was in a cradle that was rocked as I watched the fluid released that seared out to every extremity. Meanwhile a camera was firing rapidly to capture all potential blockages,” he was quoted as saying by Guinness World Records.

Colin initially went in for his operation at St George’s Hospital in London on 10 July ޹ however, he was sent home four days later without undergoing surgery. His rare blood type (B Rhesus negative) was urgently needed by a victim of a car crash, prompting him to selflessly put his operation on hold.

Feeling more confident after witnessing the efficiency of the previous operations, Colin returned to the hospital on August 8. Three days later, on August 11, he underwent the procedure. Just before going under anaesthesia, Colin’s thoughts turned to his wife and two young daughters, hoping they would be financially cared for if he didn’t make it through the surgery. “I never thought something like this would happen to me,” Colin said.

Eventually, his surgery was successful and he was discharged 12 days after his operation. As for recovery, he worked his way back up to full fitness and also returned to his job as an accountant.

Regarding his diet, he consumed skimmed milk, reduced his egg intake, and was overall “more watchful” about what he ate. He also dissolved Questran (a medication used to lower cholesterol levels in the blood) in his water, which he drank before each meal.

Nowadays, Colin admits he’s “eased up” on his diet slightly. “I mean, I’m 77 – I never thought I’d even pass three scores and ten,” he said.

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