Colleagues Manage Cardiac
Emergencies Together
Michael Henry, DO, an emergency room physician at LWRMC, had just finished
treating a patient last June when he developed symptoms that he often heard
described by his patients.
"My heart started beating irregularly, and I was short of breath, had a burning sensation in my chest and felt pain down my left arm," he says. "I knew I might be having a heart attack."
The ER staff performed an EKG and gave him medications to improve his heart function. A coronary angiogram showed that three of Dr. Henry's coronary vessels were blocked and several others were narrowed.
"I had heart bypass surgery the same day at Manatee Memorial, our sister hospital," he says. "My heart muscle wasn't damaged at all because I received treatment in a matter of minutes. I can't imagine any better place for this to happen than the ER at Lakewood Ranch."
A few weeks later, the ER staff found themselves treating another one of their own when Renee Cox, RN, came to work experiencing chest pain.
"I thought it was indigestion, but my coworkers weren't convinced," Cox says. "They evaluated me and found that my electrolytes were out of balance. I was admitted to the hospital overnight to raise my magnesium and potassium levels."
Dr. Henry and Cox have a new appreciation for the level of care ER staff members provide. And their experiences help them take better care of patients.
"Now I really know what patients are going through," Dr. Henry says. "I'm living proof that it's possible to survive a cardiac crisis and continue to live a full life."
A Healthy Heart Starts with You
When should you start thinking about preventing heart disease? Now, says Niranjan Seshadri, MD, Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory at LWRMC."Heart attacks happen suddenly, but heart disease develops over time," he says. "People should start preventing heart disease when they're healthy. It's harder to manage heart disease when patients already have it or have had a heart-related event."
Dr. Seshadri recommends that you talk with your doctor about your personal risk for heart disease and ask what you can do to lower that risk. A healthy diet and regular exercise can help ward off heart disease.
Recognizing a Heart Attack
The warning signs of a heart attack include the following:- Chest pains
- Shortness of breath
- Pain in other areas of the upper body (Symptoms can include pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach.)
See Your Doctor Today
Talk with your doctor about heart health -- please call Direct DoctorsSM Plus for a physician referral at Niranjan Seshadri, MD Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory Please call Direct DoctorsSM Plus at | Michael J. Henry, DO
Emergency Room Physician
Please call Direct DoctorsSM Plus at |
