American visitor receives emergency coronary stent after heart attack at a Beijing outpatient clinic

A 74-year-old American visitor developed an acute heart attack while attending Peking University Third Hospital's specialist outpatient service on February 26, 2026. The hospital's April account describes how the consultation led directly to emergency coronary intervention.

Symptoms changed during the consultation

The patient, identified by the pseudonym Peter, had travelled from New Zealand to China in January. A week later he developed coughing and right-sided chest pain. Medication for a suspected upper respiratory infection provided some relief, but chest pain returned in early February and again the night before his appointment.

Cardiologist Zhang Yuan ordered an electrocardiogram after examining him. Shortly after leaving the consulting room, Peter returned pale, sweating and weak, supporting himself against the door frame. Zhang accompanied him for the test, which showed an acute anterior myocardial infarction with marked ST-segment elevation. An echocardiogram supported the diagnosis.

Monitored transfer to the catheter laboratory

The outpatient emergency response was activated because of the risk of ventricular fibrillation or cardiac arrest. Nurses supplied oxygen, cardiac monitoring and physician-directed medication, with a defibrillator ready for use.

Zhang contacted interventional cardiologist Wang Yupeng. Staff arranged a dedicated lift and transferred Peter on a trolley while monitoring his vital signs. The emergency intervention team prepared the catheter laboratory before he arrived.

One stent restored coronary blood flow

Angiography showed near-total blockage of the proximal left anterior descending coronary artery, with almost no blood flow. Under local anaesthesia, the team used radial artery access, passed a guidewire through the lesion, expanded a balloon and implanted one stent.

Repeat angiography showed an open vessel and restored flow, and his chest pain disappeared. The reported interval of just over ten minutes was from arterial puncture to reopening the artery.

Peter was observed in the coronary care unit before moving to a general cardiology ward and was discharged four days later. Before discharge, the hospital reported essentially normal electrocardiogram and echocardiogram findings, no obvious myocardial necrosis and normal cardiac function. On April 21, before leaving China, he returned with an English thank-you letter.