‘The old ticker can creep up on you’: Home and Away’s Ray Meagher, 76, reveals he’s had another emergency heart surgery – just six month after undergoing shock triple bypass
Ray Meagher has revealed that he had another emergency heart surgery – just six months after undergoing a triple bypass last year.
The Home and Away star, 76, told The Daily Telegraph on Monday that he was rushed into hospital 24 hours after feeling ‘a few twinges’ while exercising.
He told the paper: ‘The old ticker can creep up on you without giving you warnings and some people aren’t as lucky as me.
Heath check: Ray Meagher (pictured) has revealed that he had another emergency heart surgery – just six months after undergoing an triple bypass last year. The Home and Away star, 76, told The Daily Telegraph on Monday that he was rushed into hospital 24 hours after feeling ‘a few twinges’ while exercising
‘They don’t get the bloody warning or a twinge… just bang. It is just so important to get checked and on a regular basis.’
Ray, who plays the beloved Alf Stewart on the long-running soap, encouraged other men to get checked.
‘Blokes feel like they’re hypochondriacs or wusses, or something, if they’ve got a bit of a twinge and tend to ignore it,’ he said.
He told the paper: ‘The old ticker can creep up on you without giving you warnings and some people aren’t as lucky as me. They don’t get the bloody warning or a twinge… just bang. It is just so important to get checked and on a regular basis’
Help: Ray encouraged other men to get checked. ‘Blokes feel like they’re hypochondriacs or wusses, or something, if they’ve got a bit of a twinge and tend to ignore it,’ he said. ‘If you’re getting a bit of a niggle, then go and see your GP. You might be alive instead of dead’
‘If you’re getting a bit of a niggle, then go and see your GP and he’ll send you to the right people. You might be alive instead of dead, and I think that’s a better option.’
The actor is now recovering and says he’s fit enough to ‘take on the marathon at the Tokyo Games’.
In August last year, Ray was hospitalised and taken into surgery, after doctors found three ‘serious’ blockages within his heart vessels.
According to the Melbourne Herald Sun, Ray had to have a triple bypass following what was supposed to be a routine health check.
Surgery: In August last year, Ray was hospitalised and taken into surgery, after doctors found three ‘serious’ blockages within his heart vessels. According to the Melbourne Herald Sun, Ray had to have a triple bypass following what was supposed to be a routine health check
Doctors had reportedly performed a routine health check on Ray, but were forced to act quickly after the results showed the star had multiple blockages.
The publication reports Ray was scheduled for open heart surgery the day after his health check due to ‘the extent of coronary calcification’.
Coronary calcification is the build-up of calcium in the arteries, which can cause blood vessels to narrow and heart disease to develop.
Ray is a long-standing star of Home and Away and has appeared as Alf on the show since its very first episode in 1988.
Much-loved star: Ray is a long-standing star of Home and Away and has appeared as Alf Stewart on the show for over three-decades, since its very first episode in 1988