The new mayor of Maple Ridge had a minor heart attack a day before he was elected.
While sign waving on Friday, Oct. 14, City of Maple Ridge Mayor Dan Ruimy said he was confronted with a stressful situation, and suddenly didn’t feel well.
He said he started feeling clammy, chest pain, and a little nauseous.
“A lot of pain,” he said.
“The bottom line is, I realized that something was not kosher and I wasn’t feeling too well. And lucky I also had folks around me who were like, ‘hmmm, you’re not looking so good’,” he explained.
He jumped in a vehicle with his partner Deb Carr, and they headed to Ridge Meadows Hospital.
However, he said, traffic was bad. Ruimy suggested Carr drive him to Maple Ridge Firehall#3, which was right around the corner from where they were.
“They took good care of me,” said Ruimy of the firefighters at the hall. They took his vitals and then called for an ambulance.
There were no ambulances in Maple Ridge, but the one that came from Langley happened to be the Advanced Life Support Team, who ran through their procedures, before making the decision to take Ruimy to Royal Columbian Hospital, instead of Ridge Meadows.
Ruimy stayed there for the weekend, where he had two stents inserted, which are small mesh tubes, typically used to keep arteries to the heart open. He was ready to go home on Saturday, he said, but doctors released him from the hospital on Monday.
READ MORE: Ruimy and his Better Maple Ridge team sweep into city hall
“Do you think I wanted to be in the hospital on election day,” he asked, laughing.
After the results on election night, Ruimy Zoomed in from the hospital where they allowed him to use a private room.
He also made sure to cover up all the wires, he chuckled.
“I put on a shirt and tie, and watched the election from there,” he said.
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He did inform those closest to him, and his campaign volunteers, why he wasn’t with the rest of his team on election night.
”Everything is good. The heart is fine. There is no damage or anything like that,” he said, attributing this fact to how quickly he and his team reacted.
“I’m strong and good and healthy. I feel great,” he added.
Now Ruimy is warning others to, “read the signs,” if something feels wrong.
Ruimy has to return to the hospital for a checkup six weeks from now. He is also on medication to make sure his body does not reject the stents, and to thin his blood.
He has since purchased a blood pressure monitor, for his own peace of mind.
“The only time we take our blood pressure is when we go see a doctor,” he said.
Ruimy said he does not have to wear a heart monitor, and he is thankful for the treatment he received from first responders to the doctors at Royal Columbian, who treated him before the heart attack had a chance to do more damage.
He hopes people will learn from his experience, not to dismiss signs that something is not right.
According to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, symptoms of a heart attack can vary and may be different for men and women. Common signs are: chest discomfort including pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain, burning or heaviness; sweating; upper body discomfort including neck, jaw, shoulder, arms, and back; nausea; shortness of breath; and light-headedness.
If anyone experiences any of these signs, the foundation, says to call 911 immediately.
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