Thai Presenter Shares Father's Heart Disease Warning Signs
Thai presenter Gift Warodaya Kamthontip recognized his father's heart attack warning signs—chest discomfort and sharp left arm pain—leading to discovery of a 90 percent blocked artery that could have proved fatal without treatment.
Thai presenter and actor Gift Warodaya Kamthontip has shared his family's experience with his father's health scare, which led to discovering severe coronary artery disease during routine hospital screening. One of his father's blood vessels was found to be 90 percent blocked with plaque; had treatment been delayed further, a heart attack could have occurred at any time.
Gift credits his knowledge of heart disease symptoms to work he did over a decade ago as a presenter for Phyathai Hospital and Mahidol Channel covering heart disease awareness. When his mother called to report his father's symptoms—mild chest discomfort and sharp pain radiating to the left arm, lasting no more than 15 minutes and recurring every two to three weeks—Gift immediately recognized them as warning signs and rushed his father to Siriraj Hospital for comprehensive cardiac testing.
The human heart has three major arteries: one in the front and two in the back. Doctors discovered that one of the rear arteries in Gift's father had become 90 percent blocked. Coronary artery disease is not determined by physical fitness alone; many athletes have collapsed on the field without knowing they had the condition. The disease typically develops gradually from prolonged consumption of foods high in unhealthy fats. Today, Gift's father takes daily heart medication and carefully monitors his diet, maintains regular health checkups, and watches for warning signs—a reminder for everyone to look after the health of those they love.
