Vancouver radio host Drex off the air until 2023 after heart attack
The popular Jack 96.9 host, who is now recovering at home, on the symptoms he nearly ignored, undergoing emergency surgery and why he has since locked his Twitter account
Cheryl Chan Nov 22, 2022
Popular Vancouver radio personality Drex will be off the air until next year while he recovers from a heart attack that required emergency surgery.
“It was really weird. I felt nauseous like I needed to throw up and do a bowel movement at the same time,” he said.
He decided to lie down and crawled to bed. His dog, Andy, would usually crawl in next to him for a cuddle. But this time, his chihuahua stood next to his bed and looked at him as if something was wrong.
Then, the 43-year-old started feeling tightness in his chest as if a heavy weight was crushing his heart. Alarmed, he called his husband, who was at work and wasn’t able to answer. He then called a friend, who told him to hang up immediately and call 911.
Firefighters came to his home in about 10 minutes, Drex said, and paramedics showed up another 10 minutes later. They took him to hospital. In the emergency room, doctors did an EKG and confirmed he was likely having a heart attack.
“They put in a stent straight away, within 20 minutes of arriving at emergency,” said Drex. “They said we got to do it now.”
Doctors will later tell him one of his arteries was completely blocked, while another was at 80 per cent. Three other arteries were also clogged, but less severely and didn’t require the small mesh tubes to hold them open.
On Monday, Drex had a second stent for the artery that was 80 per cent blocked.
The heart attack was a wake-up call, Drex said.
In an ironic twist, on the day of his heart attack, Drex had interviewed TC Carling, president of the Canadian Men’s Health Foundation, on his morning show on Jack 96.9. The foundation is a non-profit group that works to improve men’s health and reduce their risk of chronic diseases.
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