AFL legend Damian Monkhorst reveals how he predicted his own heart attack months in advance
Former Collingwood ruckman Damian Monkhorst has opened up about his recent heart attack, revealing how he predicted the coronary event to his partner several months beforehand.
Monkhorst, 55, survived a heart attack in early April, which he claims he foresaw due to the mounting stress in his life and other troubling health issues.
The 1990 premiership hero who runs his own plumbing business had been grappling with anxiety for months regarding the building industry and the challenging times ahead.
Normally a relaxed character, Monkhorst found himself waking up in the early hours of the morning to worry about work matters.
Monkhorst was also exercising less, snacking more and experiencing fairly regular headaches and neck pain.
'I predicted this to my missus (Trudi), I said "this stuff is going to give me a heart attack",' Monkhorst told News Corp.
'I had a sore shoulder and neck, which I initially put down to riding my motorbike. I had been getting random headaches for six to 12 months.
'I was looking at the other reasons why I was getting these headaches without looking at the real reasons, which was a build up of blood pressure and my head was pumping.'
Monkhorst experienced the heart attack one morning before work.
'I started to feel like I couldn't catch my breath,' he revealed.
'I started sweating, I had a sore shoulder and I felt really uncomfortable in my chest.'
'The pain got so bad that I was dry retching … I ended up on the veranda throwing up, I thought I must have had some sort of bug.
'Again, I was in denial. I finished my coffee, jumped in my LandCruiser and took off for work.'
Things got worse for Monkhorst, so he called Trudi and she told him to head straight to hospital. It was a decision that probably saved his life.
'The doctor said how lucky I was,' he said.
'Stupid me, if I hadn't made that call (to Trudi), I was highly likely to go into work and ignore what was going on, or if I still wasn't feeling good, I was just going to drive home.'
The former footy star, who had two stents put in by surgeons to fix blockages in his heart, has been told that stress probably caused the vessels to burst.
He's now on blood pressure medication, doing rehabilitation and trying to get his weight back to a healthier level.
Monkhorst has also resolved not to let his work stress trouble him like it used to.
'I nearly fell over when I jumped on the scales in there (the hospital),' he said of his weight.
'I usually stay at a certain weight, which is just under 150kgs, but in recent times, with the stress and everything else, it was a bit over.
'I'm back under that now, and I have got a long way further to go. I'm not starving myself, it is all about eating well and stopping the snacks.'
Monkhorst's heart attack this year came shortly after the death of former Collingwood and Richmond player Andrew Krakouer.
Krakouer, who played 137 games between 2001 and 2013, died of a suspected heart attack.
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