Ocean’s 13 and Heart Attack

Ocean’s 13 is the 3rd installment of the series following the adventures of Danny Ocean and his gang. I don’t remember much about the first 2 films except that it had the additional star power of Julia Roberts and Catherine Zeta Jones. The plot of the movie is similar to the first 2 and revolves around getting even and taking revenge the Ocean way. I am more interested in how the producers handled the cause of the maneuverings.

The story begins with Reuben (Elliott Gould) striking a deal with Bank (Al Pacino) with the latter double crossing the former. As a result of this problem, Reuben suffers a myocardial infarction and his friends are called in.

Myocardial infarction is otherwise known as heart attack. Elliott Gould got the symptoms right. He was shown rubbing his left shoulder and left arm and later clutching his chest. Although the classic symptom of heart attack is chest pain, it may radiate to the left arm, jaw, etc. A close-up shot also showed him sweating profusely and cold, clammy perspiration is another symptom of a heart attack. Emotional upset may trigger a heart attack as was shown in this case. It would be interesting to review the first 2 films to see if Reuben had other risk factors. Judging from the third film, Reuben had at least the following risk factors – male gender, age, smoking. The movie does not permit us to probe into other traditional risk factors like hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol, obesity, lack of physical activity and family history of heart disease.

The gang was called in to Reuben’s bedside and the attending physician emphasized the need for social support from family and friends to ease the patient’s recovery. We see the gang in several portions of the movie addressing Reuben’s emotional need. However, cardiac rehabilitation is not psychological support alone. It involves risk factor modification, physical activity and education and counselling. Except for the scene where he goes back to the casino, Reuben was always shown lying in bed, which is contrary to the recommendation of early ambulation among heart attack survicors. Of course, depression, a condition occasionally seen among patients after a cardiac event, may have been the reason why Reuben was always confined to bed.

Steven Soderbergh and Warner Brothers would have done the medical field a big service if Elliott Gould was not pictured celebrating the gang’s victory with tobacco. Smoking cessation is a MUST for heart attack survivors. If the tobacco was a vital part of the scene, Danny Ocean could have at least called Reuben’s attention that it’s bad for his heart.

The use of medical parameters in detecting if the win is legitimate or not was also very interesting. Increased heart rate and pupillary dilatation are but few of the manifestations of an upsurge of adrenalin.

The movie though appears old and dated. I thought for a moment that it was set in the 1970s but references to Oprah quickly clarified its present-day setting. I’ve always wanted to go to Las Vegas but the movie does a poor advertising of the city. The television show Vegas did a much better job as the pictures were crisp and the colors inviting.

Overall, the movie was enjoyable but maybe they should come up with a different plot line for Ocean’s 14.

ocean’s 13, movie, myocardial infarction, heart attack