The number of heart attacks in Singapore is projected to rise almost three-fold from about 480 cases per 100,000 people this year, to around 1,400 by 2050. SINGAPORE: At the age of 37, Mr Alvin Mercado suffered his first heart attack while accompanying his young daughter at their family clinic. “I would describe it as something like a crushing, heavy pain. And then I had this numbness running from my neck through my left hand, and I was wearing a mask - and I recall that I couldn't breathe at