Robert's Story
Though successful in business ventures throughout his career as an investment
executive, Robert has a history of failing stress tests. Since a benign
irregular heartbeat was detected a decade ago, he’s been tested
many times both on the treadmill and with chemically induced stress in
the lab. He has never passed one of these tests—despite no blockages
being found during a prior angiogram.
During his annual physical with Dr. Rony Kako, Robert debated if he should
reveal that he had recently felt an occasional light heart flutter, knowing
additional testing would be recommended. At the end of his exam, almost
as an after-thought, Robert mentioned the flutters and, as he feared,
Dr. Kako immediately scheduled a stress test.
In early April, Robert failed the test, as was his custom. An abundance
of caution led to the decision to perform an angiogram. When Dr. Andrew
Wong shared the results, Robert was in disbelief—an artery was 95%
blocked and he needed two stents to clear the obstruction, a life-saving
intervention.
With clearance from his physicians, Robert kept his plans to drive cross-country
the following week to see his grandkids, whom he had not seen since the
onset of the pandemic. When he returned in June, he launched what he calls
his “self-improvement plans after a very close call!”
Prior to COVID, he worked out on the elliptical trainer and weight-trained
three to four times a week. While Robert has always enjoyed favorable
cholesterol levels, he was disheartened to discover that these positive
metrics, “don’t give you license to eat with abandon butter
and mayonnaise!”
Now Robert rarely eats hamburgers or red meat and has upped his intake
of fruits and vegetables. He thanks the Queen’s cardiac rehab team
for their nutritional guidance and encouraging him to resume exercise.
“Cardiac rehab was huge in terms of restoring my confidence to work
out again,” said Robert. “There’s a common experience
of feeling fragile and worrying after a heart issue. [Their team] was
really helpful in managing that emotional element.”
Today Robert feels as good as he did before the angioplasty/stents. He
admits he is grateful for that light occasional flutter, which he almost
didn’t mention.
“[Robert’s] experience is an example of why patients need to
maintain an active lifestyle, while remaining vigilant to any potentially
significant changes to their health and reporting these in a timely fashion,”
said Dr. Wong. “In this case, Robert’s reporting the slight
aberration he was experiencing saved his life.”
Learn more about the Queen’s cardiac program at
Providence.org/HeartCareNapa.
Cover Photo: From left to right: Sergio Manubens, M.D.; Stacy James, NP;
Nick Keeler, NP; Lily Chen, M.D.; James Srebro, M.D; Andrew Wong, M.D.;
and Manoj Eapen, M.D. stand outside the Queen of the Valley Herman Family
Pavilion). Photo credit: Charlie Gesell.