2013: 6 years ago Steven was diagnosed with a congenital heart condition that causes abnormal heart palpitations. A surgery is required to permanently fix the problem but the catch is that to be effective the surgery should only be done when the heart is actually acting up. When asked if the condition can be fatal, Steven was nonchalant about it. He said his family doctor said there is only about 1 out of 10,000 chance that a person can die from an over-active heart, so he was not too concerned over his health condition.*
Actually had the radio host in this May radio interview not brought up his heart condition, Steven would not have talked about it at all. His heart condition was first publicized in 2007 because of his conspicuous absence from the 1st promo event of his then airing tv series, Steps, so tabloid inquiring minds wanted to know why and went digging for info. Their efforts were rewarded with a juicy morsel at their disposal, so naturally they ran amok with sensational headlines such as "Steven Ma May Soon Die of a Strange Disease". (And that's the tamest headline at the time). But Steven later downplayed his heart condition to media, and like all news, this news soon ran its course and long forgotten until it was once again brought up by the radio host during Steven's May interview to promote his new music album. I myself started following Steven's news in mid 2007 so I do know about his problematic heart, but yeah, Steven never mentioned it again since that time in 2007 until now. His heart condition is no secret to the public, but in the May radio interview (footprints) Steven revealed two secrets that he had hitherto never talked about in public.
Verbatim transcript of his heart condition segment
H: I didn't know that your heart has a problem. When did you find out?
S: I think it's about 5 or 6 years ago. At the time I thought it was just heart arrhythmia. But one night, (it's quite scary) suddenly my heart beat extremely fast, never mind fast but that my heart actually jolted
H: That bad?
S: The force made me dizzy. Truly scary. So immediately I was sent to the hospital. I was at home then. So in the hospital I was examined but the doctor could not find anything wrong with me. But then I began encountering similar occurrences thereafter. Sei lo, truly scary, am I going to die soon? So I underwent a lot of testing, also hospitalized for observation, EKG testing, other medical examinations and everything else possible. Finally the specialist told me that my heart has 2 nodes 'shortcut' (short-circuit). Either surgically cauterized one of the nodes' end, but (so funny) the cauterization can only be done when the the heart problem is happening - only then can he see through a scope which node is malfunctioning. I said isn't that very complicated? I asked: "Is it possible that the wrong node be cauterized?" He said yes, it's possible. I said: "So if the wrong node is cauterized, will I become 'sai ging' (insane) then? (wordplay on sai ging sing - node) Doctor said "you won't but it won't solve your problem." So I asked if I can die from it? He said if it truly palpitated too extremely you can pass out. My family doctor told me the ratio is 1 to 10,000 that people can die from it. Oh, cheh, that's pretty low. Actually, I don't fear death per se because death is a certainty in life, just that after death I go on to heavenly home, that's all. The question is in your living years, did you live a good life? As to this heart problem, I'm fine with it - just take my meds with me. So my close colleagues or close friends, they are aware of my medicines - 2 kinds. One is the heart medicine; the other to be taken to immediately slow down my heart rate because a rapid heart rate can make me dizzy and pass out, and who knows where I would fall onto. That's the concern there. They all advise me not to play badminton too vigorously. Because last month on the badminton court, while playing I suddenly collapsed onto the floor. And my heart was racing but what made it worse is that I forgot to bring my medicine that day. So scary! Almost call the police. But luckily I was very calm
H: So did Loletta Chu Ling Ling help you? (tn: Ms. Chu is also an avid badminton player.)
S: She wasn't there that day. Haha! But all my badminton friends were there and also my manager, too. They didn't know what to do. What's wrong? What's wrong? So now they know where to quickly get hold of my medicine. But I enjoy playing badminton, of course, don't overdo it. But if when I'm playing badminton, or singing or filming, and plop, I suddenly passed away, there's nothing I could do about it. I'm pragmatic about it but I would not let that mess up my life. I won't play roller coasters (tn:like how he had to in the Brink of Law promo event - lol) or willfully engage in thrilling but dangerous activities just to challenge my life. But if God wants me to leave then I'll leave. I'm not scared. If you're scared of death everyday, then you've never lived. I believe I still have a long period of time to experience new thing in life like last year I..
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*There are different types of supraventricular-tachycardia heart problems, not exactly sure which one is Steven's. Based on description, my guess is this: Atrioventricular reciprocating tachycardia.
"Normally, the AV node is the only tissue that conducts electrical impulses between the upper and lower chambers of the heart. All electrical impulses must go through the AV node to reach the lower chambers of the heart. In an (atrioventricular reciprocating tachycardia), electrical impulses travel one direction in the normal manner, down the AV node to the lower chambers (ventricles), but they then travel back up to the upper chambers (atria) through an abnormal, extra electrical pathway (accessory pathway) located outside the AV node."
2007 news report extract: Doctor: The extra electrical charge produced intensifies the heart beats sometimes to as high as 150-200 beats per minute, (causing a short-circuit) which is serious enough to cause a cardiac arrest, and in the extreme case, even death.
News first broke out on Steven's heart condition - 2007 news report (in Chinese) Doctor's explanation of Steven's abnormal heart condition. Because of his newly heart problem, he had to skip Hunan's tv variety program, Strictly Dancing 《 舞 动 奇 迹 》and replaced by Michael Tse.
A doctor's description:
对 於 患 上 心 脏 旁 导 管 症 ， 心 脏 科 医 生 李 沛 然 表 示 ： 「 病 人 天 生 心 脏 旁 多 咗 一 条 旁 导 管 ， 俗 称 多 咗 条 电 线 ， 所 以 令 心 脏 出 现 短 路 情 况 ， 一 般 嚟 讲 大 部 份 病 患 者 会 心 跳 加 速 ， 最 高 可 以 每 分 钟 心 跳 150-200 下 ， 严 重 嘅 话 亦 会 休 克 ， 甚 至 死 亡 。 我 强 烈 建 议 病 人 做 放 射 频 率 能 量 导 管 消 融 手 术 ， 将 多 咗 嗰 条 旁 导 管 切 除 。 」
Steven's description: 经详细检查后才发现是“心脏神经线短路”。当两条神经线“搭上”时，心跳立即加速。
马 仔 早 前 不 得 不 推 掉 去 湖 南 录 影 的 大 制 作 《 舞 动 奇 迹 》 ， 长 留 在 家 休 养 。另 外 ， 无 綫 大 型 节 目 《 舞 动 奇 迹 》 本 来 亦 安 排 他 参 加 ， 顺 道 配 合 剧 集 《 舞 动 全 城 》 宣 传 ， 但 恐 怕 应 付 不 了 长 时 间 的 训 练 及 去 湖 南 的 连 日 拍 摄 ， 马 浚 伟 最 後 只 好 向 高 层 乐 易 玲 请 辞 ， 他 的 位 置 由 谢 天 华 顶 上 。 谢 天 华 更 成 为 冠 军 。
Steven's colleagues' responses:
当 子 珊 得 悉 马 仔 有 怪 病 缠 身 ， 表 现 得 一 脸 惊 讶 。
在 《 舞 动 全 城 》 饰 演 马 浚 伟 妹 妹 的 陈 法 拉 ， 日 前 接 受 访 问 时 亦 表 示 ， 「 嗰 时 都 有 听 佢 （ 马 浚 伟 ） 讲 过 心 脏 有 毛 病 ， 但 系 唔 知 详 情 ， 亦 都 唔 知 咁 严 重 ， 希 望 佢 快 啲 好 番 。 」
至 於 跟 马 浚 伟 合 作 《 秀 才 爱 上 兵 》 的 黎 耀 祥 ， 亦 知 道 对 方 心 脏 出 问 题 ， 「 我 都 听 讲 佢 有 心 律 不 正 ， 仲 要 成 日 度 期 去 做 检 查 ， 希 望 佢 身 体 健 康 ！ 」
马 浚 伟 最 近 病 发 次 数 愈 见 频 密 ， 早 前 拍 摄 《 金 石 良 缘 》 经 常 请 病 假 ， 剧 中 拍 档 锺 嘉 欣 被 问 到 马 浚 伟 患 病 一 事 ， 亦 表 现 得 相 当 避 忌 ， 「 佢 依 家 好 健 康 。 （ 咁 佢 拍 嗰 阵 有 冇 请 病 假 ？ ） 病 假 系 人 都 有 ， 我 同 佢 系 好 朋 友 好 同 事 ， 呢 啲 嘢 我 唔 会 回 应 。 （ 佢 依 家 个 病 好 严 重 喎 ？ ） 唔 系 咁 严 重 啫 ！ 人 哋 私 人 嘢 我 唔 讲 啦 ！ 」
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