THE most painful part of a coronary artery operation was having to give up fatty foods, cigars and the fast life, according to one Hongkong executive who has had the operation.
Another executive said the Governor, Mr Chris Patten, would have been conscious yesterday and viewing the operation which proved the ''wonders of medical science''.
STAR TV executive vice-president, Mr Arnie Tucker, sympathised with Mr Patten, but said a similar operation he had on his heart late last year was relatively painless.
''The worst thing was having to change my diet afterwards. You can't eat all the wonderful foods in life like hamburgers, steaks and icecreams,'' he said.
''I've had 50 years of wonderful living at every fast-food outlet in the world and pastrami sandwiches for breakfast. I like my food, but when you get a clogged artery and you're told you've had a minor heart attack it's an incentive to change your lifestyle.'' Mr Tucker had the operation at the Adventist Hospital on December 18, but even then was reluctant to sacrifice work to ease stress. He even took a portable telephone into intensive care. Neither has he managed to do as much exercise as desirable.
''I will have to do something, not too high impact, maybe lots of walking to get my heart pumping.'' He advised Mr Patten to ''take the experience to heart and listen to the doctor, but live a life too''.