A 40-year-old tourist suffered a massive heart attack after consuming one of Israel’s most popular condiments. The reason? The Austrian native had never encountered the product before and had no idea of it’s highly allergenic properties.
Cardiologists at Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center hope the life-saving case of one tourist will help travelers become more aware of local culinary traditions and avoid such potentially-fatal occurrences.
Walter Spielmann, 40, the owner of a sports technology firm based in Austria, had travelled to Israel to oversee the installation of flooring in the Arena Sports Complex in Jerusalem ahead of the Maccabiah Games this summer. Walter had lived most of his life aware that he was highly allergic to sesame seeds and had always successfully avoided products with the seed as one of its ingredients.
That changed when he encountered tahini (techina) for the first time in Israel.
Following a work meeting with Uri Menachem, CEO of the Arena Complex and its parent company Ariel, the two enjoyed a casual lunch. At some point during the course of the meal, Spielmann began feeling ill and excused himself to the restroom where he had suffered a heart attack and collapsed.
Menachem began to worry why his lunch partner hadn’t returned and went looking for him while calling for help. The facilities manager, Tzion Beeri, came to the scene and immediately recognized that they were facing an emergency and was able to break down the locked door. He ran for a defibrillator located nearby. A Magen David Adom paramedic was soon onsite and began urgently treating the patient. Aided by the defibrillator, within three electric shocks Spielmann’s pulse had returned.
Prof. Naama Constantini, who runs Shaare Zedek’s Heidi Rothberg Sports Medicine Center, located within the complex, also quickly arrived on the scene and was the first to determine that the cause of the attack was in fact the patient’s allergies. Once his condition was stabilized, Walter was evacuated to Shaare Zedek located nearby where he was admitted into the Jesselson Integrated Heart Center.
Dr. Elad Asher, Director of the Center’s Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU) recalled the patient’s case saying, “The catheterization imaging didn’t reveal any arterial blockages and his overall cardiac function was normal, something which our teams found remarkable, particularly seeing the extent of the attack he experienced. And indeed, just as Prof. Constantini found, we recognized that this was linked to Walter being unaware that techina is composed largely of ground sesame. This led him to consume a large quantity of the seeds. The very serious reaction caused arterial constriction and a blockage of the heart muscle resulting in the potentially fatal heart attack. To his incredible luck, the quick reaction on the scene and the fact that a defibrillator was located nearby saved his life, combined with the additional care that we were able to provide here at Shaare Zedek. Were it not for that quick response and the defibrillator, we wouldn’t be here telling this story.”
Uri Menachem said, "This was a complex event which we are thrilled had a positive ending. The response was quick and very efficient and we are thankful to the preparedness of the Arena facilities and our teams. The efforts of Tzion Beeri and the MDA paramedic Levi Fleishman alongside the other medical teams who responded so quickly ensured that Walter's life was saved.”
Upon release from the hospital after a couple days of observation Walter thanked his doctors saying, “When traveling the world, you don’t always recognize the local culinary traditions and menus. While I carry an Epipen with me, even when I felt ill I didn’t quickly make the connection that this was an allergic attack. I feel extremely lucky and grateful that the right and professionally-trained people were there in the right place and the right time to save my life.”
Dr. Asher adds “Medically, Walter isn’t in any immediate danger but he needs to be even more aware of what he eats because such mistakes can clearly end in tragedy. People who know they have allergies, particularly those with serious allergic responses, should always carry an Epipen with them in case of such incidents. Literally until the very moment that we met in the Cardiac ICU, Walter had no idea that the food he’d consumed was called techina and that was what had caused the reaction and the heart attack.”
Prof. Michael Glikson, Director of the Jesselson Integrated Heart Center said, “This is a relatively rare, yet known occurrence where the arteries contract from an allergic reaction to such an extent that it causes a heart attack. The combined responses of Prof. Constantini and our teams here in the hospital were able to recognize the cause which we are hopeful can assist others in the future in knowing how to be more aware of just how dangerous consuming unknown foods can be.”