Craig Charles Shares Daily Health Struggles with Genetic Heart Condition
Actor and DJ Craig Charles has revealed the extent of his daily health challenges as he battles the same genetic heart condition that led to his brother's tragic death. The star made the emotional disclosure while returning to the I'm A Celebrity camp for a second stint on the popular ITV reality show.
Medication and Medical Intervention
During a conversation about medication with fellow campmates, Charles confessed he takes "so much medication" each day that he cannot remember all the names. He elaborated that he requires approximately eight tablets daily and has four stents implanted in his heart to manage his condition.
The arteries from my heart were narrow, Charles explained. It's the same thing that killed my brother when I was here last time. They told me this is genetic, you need to go get that looked at.
Emergency Hospitalization and Treatment
Charles recounted a frightening episode where he nearly died before receiving emergency medical care. After experiencing tingling in his jaws and feeling unwell, his wife Jackie, with advice from a nurse relative, recognized the severity of his symptoms and called for an ambulance.
Medical professionals determined he was having a heart attack and performed a life-saving procedure. They put a wire in, which is attached to a balloon, and then they blow the balloon up, then they stick a stent in, and it goes all the way up there into your heart, so it widens the artery, Charles described.
The intervention proved crucial, as doctors discovered Charles had been existing with only 35% blood flow to his heart. After the stents were placed, his blood flow returned to 100%, effectively saving his life.
Family Tragedy and Personal Motivation
The condition has deep family significance for Charles, whose brother Dean tragically passed away from the same illness in 2014. Dean was working as a school teacher when he lost consciousness and never woke up.
Charles left I'm A Celebrity during his first appearance in 2014 following his brother's death. Now returning to the show, he expressed his desire to honor his late brother's memory. I found out when I got back for the funeral that after the first episode, he turned to his wife and said: 'he is going to win that', Charles shared. But sadly, Dean never woke up and so hopefully I will make him proud.
The former Red Dwarf and Coronation Street star emphasized how his brother's death profoundly changed his life perspective and motivated his return to the reality television program that holds such personal significance for his family.
