Serena Kirby, Denmark Bulletin

Colin Sainty’s near-fatal heart failure has prompted him to encourage more men not to put off seeing their doctor and to take charge of their health.

Colin, 57, recently had a pacemaker and defibrillator fitted to keep his heart beating after initially brushing aside the early warning signs of trouble.

He had been breathless while ocean swimming for 18 months but had dismissed this as anxiety and challenging water conditions. He’d also started coughing up fluid after exertion.

It wasn’t until the situation became unbearable that Colin finally went to his GP to look into the cause.

He had a lung function test and scan which didn’t reveal any issue and when he got the written report ‘really didn’t read it’ and left it up to others to tell him if something needed to be done.

Colin’s lesson too important to ignore

Colin went on with his life and only when his partner Jane Kelsbie took a closer look at the report that she saw the notation that a heart check was recommended.

After returning to his GP and asking for further tests Colin was booked in for a heart ultrasound and stress test for the following month in Albany.

As luck would have it Colin got moved up the appointment list due to a cancellation.

The test results were alarming and within a matter of days Colin was in a Perth hospital having further tests.

He was then diagnosed with the life-threatening auto-immune condition, sarcoidosis.

The condition is rare and even rarer in the heart.

When sarcoidosis occurs in the heart it interrupts the electrical pulses and stops the heart muscles from functioning.

Colin immediately had a pacemaker and defibrillator implanted under his skin which saved his life when his heart stopped just four weeks later.

“I was sitting reading a book and suddenly my eyes went funny and I remember nothing else until I woke up with Jane standing over me,” he said.

“We thought I’d had a stroke as my speech was slurred so Jane called the ambulance and when the doctor viewed the defibrillator data they told me I’d flat-lined.

“I’d actually died and the defibrillator saved my life.

“Had I not gone to the doctor when I did, had Jane not read the report and pushed for further tests and had I not got the earlier appointment for the heart tests, I would be dead.

“The whole journey has been a wake up call and my message is don’t put off going to the doctor and don’t be afraid to push for answers as your health is your responsibility.

This article appeared in Denmark Bulletin, 15 May 2025.