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Dr Gérald Kierzek (Medical Director of Doctissimo)
The famous cook who hosts cooking shows, including “The best bakery in France” on M6, was recently hospitalized. Victim of a pneumothorax, the chef actually thought he was having a heart attack. Doctor Gérald Kierzek, emergency physician and medical director of Doctissimo, explains to us what the main differences are.
Chef Norbert Tarayre rescued for pneumothorax
While he was in the middle of filming, the cook-host had to be rushed to the American hospital in Neuilly-sur-Seine. Help arrived quickly because the chef thought he was having a heart attack. He, in fact, confided to a magazine what he had felt: “It’s as if you felt something move in your body. I thought it was cardiac arrest.” Nevertheless, it was not actually a heart attack, but a pneumothorax. He indicated that “The tongue of the lung got the hell out, 6 centimeters came off.” Frightened, Norbert Tarayre revealed that he said goodbye to his children and gave his bank card codes to his partner.
While the care team wanted to operate on him, the chef formally opposed it: “They told me they were going to cut a hole in my ribs. I told the doctor that if anyone touched my body, I would kill it. So they didn’t make a hole in my ribs. I stayed slammed for three weeks and the lung stuck back together“.
The celebrity is now much better and wants to reassure his fans. In effect, “For the past few days, several articles have been circulating about my state of health. Don’t worry, everything is fine, I am in excellent health.”.
As Dr. Kierzek points out, confusing pneumothorax with heart attack is not uncommon, because “the symptoms are similar”. Indeed, in both cases,the pain comes suddenly, it is localized at the level of the thorax”. Also, if the left lung is affected, “it will make the heart think”. One of the notable differences between the two is that “during a heart attack, the patient does not necessarily present with shortness of breath whereas he is systematically short of breath in the event of pneumothorax”.
Generally, “the typical profile of the patient is not the same. Pneumothorax tends to occur in people who are young, thin, tall, slender and in good physical condition.”, explains the medical director. We then speak of a “marfanoid profile“. It also happens that the patient presents “a history of pneumothorax”. Heart attacks tend to affect older people who have risk factors (comorbidities, tobacco, overweight, etc.).
For Doctor Kierzek, “the action to take in case of chest pain is always the same: you must contact the emergency services”. Indeed, it is impossible to tell the difference yourself between a pneumothorax and a heart attack. Only an examination confirms the diagnosis:
In addition, in both cases, emergency medical care is essential. In the case of a pneumothorax, it is necessary to drain it. “Sometimes surgery is needed to reattach the lung”. On the other hand, to treat a heart attack, it will be necessary “unclog vessels” obstructed and the treatment is cardiological.