BY NICK DIAMANTIDES
Staff Writer
Signal Hill Mayor Mike Noll had a heart attack on April 30, but he seems to have come through it without much permanent damage. “After leaving City Hall on Wednesday afternoon, I went home and thought I had a case of indigestion,” Noll said. “I took some medication for it, but later it turned into real heavy chest pains.”
Noll phoned his doctor, who advised him to check into a hospital immediately. “I didn’t realize it was as bad as it was, so I just drove myself to Memorial Medical Center,” the mayor said. By the time he got to the hospital the pain was so intense that he left his car parked along the curb of the emergency room and walked in.
“I told them I thought I was having a heart attack and they began treating me in the ER immediately,” he said. “Then they transferred me to the cardiology section, treated me some more and ended up putting a stent in the main artery of my heart.” Noll explained that the artery had a plaque build-up, which caused a blockage.
He checked into the hospital at about 4 p.m. April 30 and was back home by Friday (May 2) afternoon. “I’m okay,” he said. “The doctor told me not to do anything strenuous for a while, but I can pretty much resume my normal daily activities.”
Ironically, Noll was planning on meeting former Long Beach Mayor Beverly O’Neill at a special event at Miller’s Children’s Hospital on the Memorial campus at 4:30 the same afternoon that he checked into the ER.
“I was extremely fortunate,” he added. “It was very foolish to drive myself to the hospital. When you have chest pains or pain in your arms, call 9-1-1. The paramedics can begin treating you right away and your chances of survival are much greater.”
