Story By: John Feng, Sub-Editor:  Joseph Golder, Agency: Asia Wire Report

These are the pieces of fat removed from a pensioner’s major neck arteries after his love for lard clogged his carotid and stopped blood from reaching his heart.

The patient named as Mr Zhang, 69, was admitted to hospital after collapsing at home in front of his family members.

The native Heyuan City, in South China’s Guangdong Province, was treated at Guangdong 999 Brain Hospital in the provincial capital of Guangzhou earlier this month.

Mr Zhang’s daughter said her father had began feeling numbness in his hands and feet in June, and sometimes could barely walk, but they thought his condition was the result of his age.

It was not until Doctor Yan Xueqiang ordered comprehensive tests that they learned his carotid arteries – supplying oxygen to his neck and brain – had been clogged by fatty deposits known as plaque.

The illness known as atherosclerosis meant that the plaque build-up – comprising fat, calcium and cholesterol – narrowed his artery walls by up to 90 percent.

Explaining scans showing blood flow in Mr Zhang’s neck, Doctor Yan said: “His blood travels upwards but suddenly stops at a bottleneck, like it is stuck somewhere.

“His blood flow is then reduced by up to 90 percent.”

According to the hospital, two pieces of plaque measuring 0.8 and 1.2 inches were removed from Mr Zhang’s left and right carotid arteries.

Doctor Yan added: “He was at serious risk of suffering a fully blocked artery.

“If the plaque had come loose and was then carried by the artery, it could’ve caused a blockage leading to loss of consciousness, a stroke or even loss of speech.”

Mr Zhang’s revealed the pensioner loves meals cooked with lard and is especially fond of fatty pork.

Doctor Yan said his diet was the main contributor to his illness.

The medic said: “High cholesterol in the blood causes the formation of plaque in arteries.

“As plaque accumulates, it causes narrowing of the artery wall.”

Mr Zhang is expected to make a full recovery following the successful surgery.

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