Warren Martin knows all too well the impact of heart disease. It runs deep in his family, claiming the lives of loved ones and casting a shadow over his own health.
In 2011, despite feeling fit and healthy, Warren’s GP insisted he have a CT scan followed by an angiogram. The retired accountant from Sydney was shocked when the tests revealed a 70 per cent blockage of the right coronary artery in his heart, with only a trickle of flow noted. The left anterior descending artery was also blocked to 50 to 75 per cent. He needed urgent surgery.
“I didn’t have any symptoms,” Warren, now 82, recalls. “It was only because of my family history that my GP said I needed to be very cautious and organised the tests.
“The next thing I knew, I was sitting in front of a cardiologist, preparing for a quadruple bypass. The surgeon told me I was a heart attack waiting to happen.”
“The next thing I knew, I was sitting in front of a cardiologist, preparing for a quadruple bypass.
Heart disease had struck his family before. Warren’s mother suffered her first heart attack in her 50s and survived, but a second attack at age 66 claimed her life.
“My mum collapsed while walking down the main street in Epping and died instantly. My father had passed away a year earlier after a stroke, and my brother also faced serious heart issues, requiring a stent and a defibrillator.
And the heartache didn’t end there. Even before he was born, two of his older brothers died - one at just six weeks old due to a hole in her heart – congenital heart disease (CHD).
Determined to make a difference, Warren has been a steadfast supporter of HRI for over a decade.
“I just want to do my part,” he says. “Supporting heart research is so important.”
His commitment goes beyond donations. Warren has participated in heart research and recently attended HRI’s Heart to Heart seminar with Professor David Celermajer.
“I found Professor Celermajer’s presentation about CHD very enlightening,” she shares. “It's amazing to think how far we've come and how rapidly the research is evolving, particularly in the last 10 years or so. The advancements are incredible.”
At 82, Warren cherishes every moment with his wife, children and grandchildren.
“I’m still here, doing well, and keeping up with regular heart check-ups and stress tests. I encourage everyone to do the same and to support the incredible work at HRI.”
How is HRI helping?
HRI is conducting innovative research to develop new therapies for heart failure and heart attack.
Researchers from our Cardiovascular Regeneration group, led by Dr Carmine Gentile, are working on an alternative to heart transplants using 3D-printed ‘mini-hearts’. The new technology creates personalised ‘bio-inks’ made of a patient’s own cells. These bioprinted cells form a ‘patch’, like a band-aid, which can then be used to replace the damaged tissue cause by heart failure.
Our Fluxomics Centre, led by Dr Sergey Tumanov, is devoted to identifying and exploring the cellular changes that are unique to each individual’s cardiovascular disease – with the ultimate goal of personalised methods to prevent, detect, and treat cardiovascular diseases like heart attack.
Our Coronary Diseases Group is investigating whether the anti-inflammatory drug colchicine, which has already proved safe and effective for treating conditions like arthritis and gout, can be repurposed to protect against repeat heart attacks. A collaboration between the Coronary Disease Group and our Clinical Research Group has also discovered that the heart releases certain substances during a heart attack that can be detected i