Award-winning actor Sir Patrick Stewart has excelled on both the stage and the big screen. He is most known for his appearances as Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the X-Men in Star Trek. Off-screen, the 81-year-old celebrity has spoken out about the possibility of passing away and his desire, if that time comes, to be given permission for an assisted death.
After receiving a heart ailment diagnosis, the actor who has been considered for almost all major awards for his work, including an Emmy, Tony, and Golden Globe, focused on death.
Stewart’s prognosis and the “ghastly” death of a close female friend inspired him to support the campaign Dignity in Dying, which seeks to legalize assisted suicide in the UK. Speaking about his sudden heart condition diagnosis, the celebrity said that he was sent to the hospital right away for a life-saving operation.
A few years back, Stewart made an appearance on an edition of This Morning and stated: “I was diagnosed rather unexpectedly during my annual checkup by my cardiologist, who remarked “What are you doing this afternoon?” “Well actually, I’m going for lunch,” I responded. Then he added, “I’d prefer you didn’t.”
“I was on a gurney in five minutes, giving information about my next of kin, so it was very dramatic.
“I didn’t have time to dwell on it, but I did know that no matter what happened, I was in the best hands I could have been in and would be taken care of.
However, it served as a wake-up message that Patrick is not immune.
The 85 percent blockage in Stewart’s heart was removed during emergency surgery, and a stent tube was placed to maintain the region open and prevent clogging.
After the treatment, the celebrity patient was required to visit the doctor twice a year for a variety of examinations, including an angiogram, an X-ray that enables medical professionals to view the blood veins in the heart.
Stewart told the Sunday Times that despite how “always terrifying” he finds these twice-yearly doctor visits, they have helped him decide how he wants to pass away.
“When someone is terminally ill, there should be a path they can follow. I believe it to be a sensible course of action.
We are aware, based on surveys, that more than 84% of adults in the United Kingdom approve physician assisted suicide.
Stewart’s diagnosis of a heart or circulatory disease, which influenced his choices and thoughts towards assisted dying, is a frequent one; in the UK, there are about 7.6 million individuals who have one of these diseases.
More than this, heart and circulatory illnesses account for more than 160,000 deaths annually in the UK, or 25% of all fatalities.
A variety of illnesses that affect the heart, such as blood vessel disease, heart valve disease, and heart infection, are together referred to as heart disease.
Due to a buildup of fatty substances in the coronary arteries, the condition is brought on by a blockage or interruption of the blood flow to the heart.
Your artery walls develop fatty deposits over time, which causes them to “fur” up. The fatty deposits are called atheroma, and the process is known as atherosclerosis.
Individuals may have warning indications of cardiac disease during this procedure, such as:
chest pain (angina)
breathing difficulty
body-wide discomfort
Feeling weak
I feel nauseous (nausea).
Only a physician can make the diagnosis of heart illness after performing a series of tests on the patient, including blood tests, CT scans, and MRI scans.
Heart disease cannot be healed after it has been identified, but medication can help to manage the symptoms and lower the risk of issues like heart attacks and strokes.
According to Stewart, an angioplasty technique is utilized to clear disease-caused blockages in the coronary arteries. Without requiring open heart surgery, it restores blood flow to the heart muscle. The newly opened region of the artery is placed with a thin expandable metal mesh coil, or stent, to prevent further constriction or closure.
To reduce the danger of arteries clogging up again, people should undertake significant lifestyle adjustments both before and after surgery. To lessen symptoms or prevent heart disease, changes like regular exercise, quitting smoking, and alcohol use restrictions can all be beneficial.
Should the time come for me to pass away, he continued, “I would prefer to have a choice as to how I pass away.
