Malcolm Hebden from 'Coronation Street' reveals he was very close to death following heart attack

Malcolm Hebden, who is known for playing the role of Norris Cole in 'Coronation Street' has been missing from the show for a long time and the actor has finally opened up about the reason for this. In an interview with Blackpool Gazette, the actor revealed that he was taking time away from shooting as he was recovering after getting a heart attack which sent him into a coma for several weeks. 

"Most of December I was in an induced coma, in the care of these brilliant, wonderful people at the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU). Fortunately, I didn’t realize how bad it was; I was dying. The cardiac team, headed by Mr. Joseph Zacharias, simply saved my life," he said. The 78-year-old had visited his doctor with a chest infection. After getting tested, the doctor informed him that an ambulance was on its way to collect him and take him to the Royal Blackburn Hospital, the nearest hospital from his home. 

“I was informed by my doctor I had had at least one heart attack,” he said. “I was sent to the hospital, by emergency ambulance to Blackburn hospital and was there one night. While there I collapsed and was brought here to Blackpool Victoria - where I was operated on, in a procedure which was described by my surgeon Mr. Zacharias as ‘ground-breaking’."

“The heart attack tore a hole in my heart, they operated and took a chance," he revealed. In order to save the actor from having any other complications or attacks, his heart was ‘wallpapered’ using tissue from a cow in the procedure in order to repair the damage that was caused due to the heart attack. He was then moved back to the Royal Blackburn Hospital. He was still in a coma during this time and it wasn't until January that he gained consciousness. 

After being in the hospital for nearly three months, he was discharged in the month of February. "From getting into that ambulance at home, I don't really remember much at all," he said. "It was almost like I thought it was happening to Norris Cole, like a soap opera about the NHS." Even though Malcolm was not aware of the treatment he was getting, his friend, Vicky praised the staff for the work they had done. 

“The staff was not only wonderful in caring for Malcolm but to his friends and next of kin,” she said. “They said ring any time, day or night, and I did. They were always patient and kind, they always told me what they knew - even though in the first couple of weeks it was very much on a day-to-day basis as I didn’t know if he was going to survive. The expertise in that CICU is amazing. Most people who have these 'silent' heart attacks just drop down, dead, but because he'd been to his doctor that day, he was incredibly lucky."