Cardiology - Heart Hero Real Stories

Jon Hayes

The first thing Jon Hayes took for his indigestion was Rolaids®. When that didn't help, he took two aspirin and went back to surfing the Internet on his computer, assuming everything would be OK. But when he began to feel pressure in his chest, Jon realized that everything was not OK. After some deliberation, he decided to go to the emergency room.

Immediately after his arrival, the hospital ran an electrocardiogram on Jon and learned that he was in the midst of a heart attack. During an emergency angioplasty, a cardiologist cleared the blockage in his arteries and inserted mesh cylinders, called stents, to keep them from closing again. Before the night of March 14, 2000 ended, Jon had gone from having a casual evening at home to suffering a heart attack and undergoing his angioplasty procedure. But by morning, his prognosis was good.

Aside from the indigestion, Jon had experienced no prior symptoms. The initial pressure he had felt in his chest could have been mistaken for heartburn. Although he wasn't quite sure what to make of it, Jon credits his decision to go to the ER as the one that saved his life: "If I had waited until morning, there wouldn't have been a morning," he explains.

Barely seven months after his heart attack, Jon Hayes is "still on this side of the grass and doing great!" He has quit his smoking habit of 34 years ("cold turkey!") and has renewed his commitment to community service. Jon's advice to others is plain and simple: "If in doubt, get it checked out!"

Chuck Missel

Chuck Missel felt fine. During the angioplasty and even leading to his open-heart surgery, Chuck Missel felt fine.

But despite his high spirits, Chuck had been in a potentially dangerous position: he was and always had been completely free of any possible symptoms or causes of heart disease. What had kept Chuck in control of his health was his commitment to repeated check-ups with his doctor.

Chuck knew years ago that he was a possible candidate for coronary artery disease. His father had died of a heart attack, and his mother of a stroke. Because heart disease is often inherited, Chuck made frequent appointments with his doctor, who in turn administered routine stress tests.

For nearly 10 years, Chuck underwent the examinations with no problems. Toward the end of this stretch, doctors discovered some blockage in the arteries leading to his heart, and the first of two sets of stents, or metal coils, were inserted to prevent them from closing again. One year later, more blockage was found and the second set of stents implanted. Finally, doctors opted for open-heart surgery.

Today, Chuck Missel is feeling fine as ever, and he continues to see his doctor regularly. Chuck stresses the importance of routine examinations: "Be aware - especially if it's hereditary. Make sure you see your doctor - going to the doctor really isn't so bad - the stress tests really aren't so bad. Just take care of yourself."

Marilyn Willits

Marilyn Willits would become short of breath walking down the hall to her office at Genesis Medical Center. The usual pep she had was gone. The fatigue was creeping up on her faster than normal.

She thought it was just a normal sign of aging. She was wrong.

The nurse specialist never linked fatigue - or the strange uneasiness in her stomach - to heart disease. She ignored the early warning signs - until her condition deteriorated to the point of needing five-vessel bypass surgery. Two vessels were 100 percent blocked and another 85 percent blocked by the time she was diagnosed, she says.

"Women shouldn't accept fatigue as a normal sign of aging," she warns. "I had been a race-walker and a person who exercised and never thought I would have heart disease. It dawned on me that the 'classic' symptoms of heart trouble are very different in women than they are in men."

Willits now exercises two hours a day - a far cry from the days after surgery when she balked at completing the initial 8-minute walk her doctor had prescribed.

"I now have so much energy and a wonderful outlook Life is as good as it has ever been," she says.

Susan Nichols

Forty-one year-old Susan Nichols came down with a touch of the flu. Nothing too serious - just a bug that was going around, she thought. Weeks went by, and although she was up and about, Susan still felt tired. But with a new baby in the house - along with three other children - sleep was hard to come by.

As the months passed, Susan's energy level dropped. She began to experience shortness of breath and became extremely fatigued. But because of her active lifestyle, Susan figured she was just overexerting herself. After all, the electrocardiogram she had received in February indicated that everything was fine.

Despite this clean bill of health, Susan decided to see her doctor. Because of scheduling conflicts, she was unable to make an appointment until September - five months after her battle with influenza. To her surprise, Susan was told she was suffering from nonischemic cardiomyopathy, a disease of the heart muscle that is sometimes the result of a viral infection. She had contracted the disease during her bout with the flu, and was in need of immediate care.

Prior to her diagnosis, Susan experienced no pain or common indications of heart disease. "I really didn't think anything of it," she says of the few symptoms she did experience.

Because she had been leading such a busy life, Susan attributed her tiredness to other simple causes and did not find the time to visit her doctor. "See a doctor," Susan now insists, "even if you have a lot of outside circumstances in your life, see a doctor."

Today, Susan Nichols is busier than ever. Although her energy is limited, she distributes it amongst her top priorities: her four children who range in age from teenagers to preschoolers.

She has taken active participation in her health care and has educated herself on her condition and the repercussions it may bring. Most importantly, Susan has made the transition essential for a healthy heart. "You have to make whatever changes are necessary," she says, "and you have to be willing to live with them."

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