False missile alert in Hawaii triggers heart attack in 51-year-old

Anicka Slachta | | Cardiovascular Business | Acute Coronary Syndromes

A 51-year-old man suffered a “massive” heart attack in East Oahu moments after Hawaiian officials issued a false missile alert last weekend, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported.

Sean Shields said goodbyes to his children over the phone before beginning to violently throw up on Sandy Beach, according to the article. He then drove himself and his girlfriend, Brenda Reichel, to a nearby health center, where he collapsed in the waiting room.

An emergency surgery and four stents later, Shields was, miraculously, alive.

“This whole thing just took him over the edge,” Reichel told the Star-Advertiser. “The stress brought on a heart attack. What they did was so harmful. Whatever the government is saying, this has caused major stress to everyone here.”

Read Shields’ full story on the Star-Advertiser’s site:

Man suffers massive heart attack during false alert

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Anicka Slachta

After graduating from Indiana University-Bloomington with a bachelor’s in journalism, Anicka joined TriMed’s Chicago team in 2017 covering cardiology. Close to her heart is long-form journalism, Pilot G-2 pens, dark chocolate and her dog Harper Lee.

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