Six-time Mr Asia Datuk Abdul Malek Noor does not think durians he consumed prior to a charity football match triggered his heart attack.
“I don't think the durians had to do with the blockage (of the arteries),” he said when met at Pantai Hospital Ipoh yesterday.
A Malay tabloid had speculated that his attack was triggered by durians which Malek had eaten before the charity match.
Malek was part of a National Athletes Welfare Foundation delegation to Perak and the football match last Wednesday was part of a fund-raising programme.
He collapsed shortly after the charity match began.
Malek, 54, said his heart had stopped beating before he was sent to Pantai Hospital Ipoh from Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital.
“I told myself that this is not how I want to die. I prayed to Allah to give me a second chance and it was answered. I will live my life to the fullest after being granted a second life' and promise to take good care of my health,” he said.
Malek is recovering well but is still being monitored closely after being moved from the intensive care unit to the normal ward.
“I can walk on my own but the medicine makes me drowsy. The doctor said I can be discharged from the hospital within four days,” he said.
He said that he experienced heart attack symptoms after returning from his umrah in Mecca last Saturday.
“There were times that my breathing was laboured and I felt tired easily. I thought it was the weather and I just brushed it aside, thinking it was nothing,” he said.
Malek said that Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir visited him on Saturday.
“He came with flowers and wished me a speedy recovery,” he said, adding that many concerned people had also visited him.
“Some of my Facebook friends from overseas said they are coming to visit me too,” he added.
