39-year-old celebrates CNY with new lease of life after heart surgery

Mr Png Zhijie can put his heart into enjoying Chinese New Year festivities after obtaining a new lease of life last July.

The 39-year-old IT professional underwent surgery to fix a valve in his heart that was unable to close properly - a condition that he was diagnosed with about 10 years ago.

At that time, Mr Png was working in Shanghai when a doctor there noticed a whistling sound from his heart and advised him to get it checked.

He was diagnosed with mitral valve prolapse - a heart condition caused by deformed valves.

Each time the heart pumps, blood flows back into the left atrium instead of being transported to the rest of the body.

If the condition is sufficiently severe, the blood could flow back into the lungs.

Over time, symptoms such as difficulty in breathing or shortness of breath, as well as fatigue, are likely to worsen.

A physically strong and active man, Mr Png noticed that he was getting weaker and grew tired easily over the years.

“Normal exercises like carrying weights and doing chin-ups and cardio seemed a lot harder. 

“My stamina was getting weaker as I tended to get breathless very easily. 

“The recovery period to get back my breath was also much longer,” Mr Png told The Straits Times last week.

Once, he had to rest and lie down for 30 minutes before he could walk, after overexerting himself from doing crunches. “Then the fatigue attacks came randomly, especially if I overexerted myself, causing me to be unable to fully train. 

“In 2020, I was able to do only shorter and lighter exercises.” 

Last July, on the advice of his doctor, Mr Png proceeded with surgery to repair his heart valve at the National University Heart Centre, Singapore. 

He was also the first trial patient of its newly invented Endopsis system, where the use of a new miniature camera probe allows for one less surgical incision. 

“It’s been six months after the operation. My life is back to normal. I am fully recovered and slowly back to my exercise regime,” said Mr Png, who has two older brothers. Mr Png is married, and his wife is in China. 

“I am very thankful for the support of family and friends during this recovery period.” 

His eldest brother Wyne Png, 44, recalled: "We were so worried for him.

“Plus, due to the Covid-19 restrictions back then, only one caregiver was allowed to take care of him after surgery, so the rest of us could not be by his side.

“He had to go for the surgery alone, can you imagine how brave Zhijie was?”

The family grew closer when the younger Mr Png was hospitalised.

“Due to the one-person caregiver rule, my dad, a traditional man who is someone of few words, went to visit him every day,” added Mr Wyne Png. 

“My mum would have done the same if not for her poor health.” 

He added: “I cannot remember the last time we had so many video calls together, talking and joking while watching Zhijie flash his scars and the tubes. 

“We are just grateful to be spending time as a family together. 

“What we take away from this experience is to always cherish your loved ones. Every day counts, every day matters.”