Philip Scarsella, who had hoped to jumpstart a political career by challenging for a seat on the Cary Town Council, has dropped out of the race. The decision came this month, after the 53-year-old accountant had a reaction to a mix of prescription drugs designed to ease joint pain and thin his blood.

Scarsella said he was at work at Uniboard USA in Moncure when he suddenly fell ill.

“I had a little surprise on Tuesday that I didn’t expect,” said Scarsella, who returned to work on Monday after a brief absence. “Everyone at work thought I was having a heart attack.”

Scarsella notified the Wake County Board of Elections on Friday of his intention to withdraw. The decision postpones his bid to unseat Julie Robison, giving the two-term councilwoman an uncontested race for the lone at-large seat on the council.

It’s too late for other challengers to join the ballot.

And while Scarsella won’t join the fray in November, he could be back eventually. “I need to focus on my health right now,” he said. “So if that means I have to wait a few more years, then so be it.”

Scarsella said that doctors at UNC Hospital in Chapel Hill told him that the unintended prescription cocktail caused his blood vessels to constrict. He remained hospitalized for less than 24 hours and was discharged Wednesday with instructions to avoid climbing stairs or lifting anything heavier than 10 pounds, Scarsella said.

Cardiologists at UNC also told Scarsella he needed to end his political campaign.

“They said the stress on me right now would make it unhealthy for me to continue,” he said. “I agreed with them.”

Before quitting the race, Scarsella said he had looked forward to the campaign despite his political inexperience. “I feel like I’m an unknown commodity because of the short time I’ve lived here,” Scarsella said in an earlier interview. “I don’t have a political background, but I do have the heart and the desire to do something positive for Cary.”

Scarsella was hoping to tackle the need for Cary to improve its infrastructure and to eliminate wasteful spending. “That’s a natural inclination anyway since I’m an accountant,” he said.