video. Suffering a heart attack, Bertrand came close to death from over-the-counter cold medicine at pharmacies.
In 2016, Castres resident Bertrand Parisel suffered a heart attack after swallowing over-the-counter medication pills at a pharmacy to treat a flu condition. Emergency surgery and rescue, he now lives with lifelong preventive treatment.
Bertrand Parisel’s life changed in February 2016. During the holidays, the percussion teacher at Tern Conservatory of Music and Dance went to spend a few days with his mother in the Perpignan region. A few days ago, he went to the pharmacy to buy over-the-counter medicine to treat a nasty cold.
On the way back from vacation, while driving, swimmers start to feel uncomfortable. Then very badly. “It was after eating. At first, I put it down to difficult digestion. I was tired, nauseous. I stopped on the side of the road: I was pressed more and more and my left arm started to hurt,” says the now 51-year-old. says Castrais, who had no such warning.
It appears in a TV report and makes a link with the drug
That day, Bertrand had a heart attack, as his father had already had one. Aware of the signs, he calls the firefighters who quickly take care of him, going to a specialized clinic where he will undergo emergency surgery.
Three days later, he will be transferred to a cardiac rehabilitation center in Banuels-sur-Mer for two weeks, where he appears in a TV report. “He was talking about dangerous drugs, including the testimony of someone who had a heart attack after taking vasoconstrictor drugs containing pseudoephedrine. I have taken it. “A habit? “No, I’ve rarely taken it, not even every year,” swore Nancy’s man, who was then in good health. “When we take medicine at the pharmacy, we also trust the person who We are sold it and the pharmacist did not tell me anything. When I read the instructions later, there is a page of side effects and unwanted effects… In the first, it is stroke and cardiovascular disease. »
Three medications daily for life for prevention
In the center, Bertrand talks to a local doctor about the report. “I told him that I had taken certain medicine, he said no 100% yes, but there was a really strong chance that it had caused the heart attack. »
In the same program, the professor learned about the existence of a regional pharmacovigilance center in Toulouse, in which he shared his experience. Eight years later, through this medium, he was contacted by a special envoy team and thus found himself in a report broadcast a few days ago on France 2.
“Like many people, I thought it would speed up the healing”
From a heart attack, Bertrand Parisil lives with life-long preventive treatment. “Three pills a day, two in the morning and one in the evening,” explains one who will never again use one of these myriad over-the-counter medications for life-threatening flu-like illnesses. What if he sees someone taking one of his pills in front of him? “Obviously, yes I would tell him it’s useless. I realized this later, in addition to the dangers they carry: colds go away after 8-10 days. Like many people, I thought it would speed up the healing process. » A few days later, the swimmers would have lost their lives.
