Making Rounds
Cardiac cath procedure provides immediate improvement
Eric Jackson doesn’t have a lot of time for rest. He works full time running a fertilizer spreader on fields near his Sampson County home. And when he’s not doing that, he’s tending to the family farm with his wife, Cassie, and their two boys.
So when the 36-year-old felt chest pains at work one afternoon last July, he powered through.
“I was in the office and noticed my chest was starting to hurt,” he said. “But it was only about 10 minutes and then it quit. So I wasn’t too worried.”
On the drive home, the pain returned and felt a little more urgent. Eric called Cassie, who was on the way home herself.
“He was asking where I was, which was kind of an odd thing for him,” said Cassie. “And he said, ‘My chest hurts.’ I didn’t like the sound of that, so I started to drive a little faster.”
At home, Eric still wasn’t sure if this was anything to worry about. He was having pain in his arms too, but he figured that could be easily written off as muscle strain from work. Cassie asked him if he thought they should make the 20-minute drive to Betsy Johnson Hospital.
“I was back and forth,” Eric said, “thinking, should I go to the hospital or not. But then with my family history, I said, ‘Let’s go.’”
In the emergency department, testing revealed an elevated level of troponin, a protein the heart releases into the bloodstream when its muscle is damaged. Further testing indicated that Eric wasn’t in immediate danger, but something was clearly happening. He was admitted to undergo a two-day stress test under observation. The results were troubling.
“After the stress test,” Cassie said, “things moved very quickly.”
Eric was rushed to Central Harnett Hospital for a cardiac catheterization, where cardiologist Amol Bahekar, MD, would place a stent to open a severely blocked artery.
“He had a 90 percent blockage in his LAD,” said Cassie. “That’s what they call ‘the widowmaker.’”
During the catheterization, Eric was surprised to feel the effects of the stent immediately.
“It’s hard to explain,” he said. “It was like a big rush. No shortness of breath anymore, like I just relaxed and opened up.”
When the procedure was done, Dr. Bahekar showed Cassie some video of the blockage before and after, taken from the same monitor he had watched while placing the stent.
“Before the stent, it looked like when you squeeze a balloon animal,” she said. “Seeing the blood flow before and after really brought it into perspective for me.”
After an overnight stay, Eric was discharged with instructions to take it easy. The family headed to Oak Island, where a vacation with his family was already underway.
“I knew at home he would be worried about the farm and trying to look after things there,” Cassie said. “I didn’t want him to have that stress, so we went ahead with the beach trip. He was too tired to do much. Resting was good for all of us.”
Months later, Eric is feeling a lot better. He has more energy, and to help keep his heart healthy, he has dropped about 30 pounds of excess weight. He’s changed his diet, a shift that has given the whole family healthier habits.
“We don’t eat red meat very often anymore,” said Cassie. “We’ve gone to more greens, fresh greens and whole grain breads and pastas, which I actually make myself so that I can control what goes into them. I can control the salt content and things like that.”
Looking back on that July day, Cassie is glad they made the right decision to go to the emergency department.
“It is always better to err on the side of caution,” she said. “Even if it might be nothing, you don’t want to risk things getting worse at home and then you can’t get help in time. Go get it checked out.”
Learn more about Cape Fear Valley Health’s cardiac services at capefearvalley.com/heart.
