Bob's Story
Chest Pain/Heart Disease
Heart Care
He had recurring chest pain.
Rush helped him before it was too late.
And within two weeks, he was back on his motorcycle.
Bob's Story
When he isn’t fixing things around the house or spending time with his grandchildren, Bob is usually off hang gliding, scuba diving, boating, camping or riding his motorcycle. So far, Bob ― a 67-year-old retired construction equipment operator ― and his wife, Arline, have traveled through 42 states on their motorcycle.
But one day last summer, as Bob was climbing the hill up to the boat dock, a severe pain in his chest brought him to his knees. "It was like being hit with a sledgehammer," says Bob.
Bob had a history of high blood pressure. He also had occasional recurring chest pain and shortness of breath that was brought on by activity and relieved by rest. But now, the pain was intense and it scared him. His wife insisted he see his primary care doctor who referred him to a cardiologist. Bob was not satisfied when he learned that the process of testing and getting results could take weeks. “I’m in pain and I need help right now,” Bob told his wife.
By searching on the Internet, Arline found a link to the Rush Outpatient Chest Pain Center where patients can come in, have a thorough evaluation completed in the morning and then meet with the doctor and get results by the afternoon. “What impressed me the most is you go in there and it’s all done in one day so I called and made an appointment,” says Bob.
At his Monday morning appointment, Bob first met with interventional cardiologist Gary Schaer, MD. He then had a complete work-up, including a treadmill stress echocardiogram to evaluate his heart and valve function at rest and with exertion, which yielded problematic results. Schaer discussed these results with Bob and told him that they needed to perform cardiac catheterization, a procedure to examine blood flow to his heart and test how well his heart was pumping. Bob was scheduled to have the procedure the following day.
On Tuesday morning, Bob came in for his cardiac catheterization. It showed that one of Bob’s main arteries that supplies blood to his heart was 90 percent blocked. “He likely would have had a heart attack had he not come in,” says Schaer.
Heart Disease Treatment
By the afternoon, the heart team at Rush had placed a stent inside Bob’s artery to restore blood flow to his heart and prevent the artery from closing again. Bob immediately felt better and nowadays, “I can run up that hill,” Bob exclaims. A week and a half after getting the stent, he and his wife took a motorcycle trip down to Southern Illinois to camp for a few days. Since he was feeling up to it, Bob and Arline continued on to the Great Smoky Mountains and the Ozarks.
Placing the stent in Bob's artery was just the first step to help him get back on a heart healthy track. Bob continues to meet regularly with the patient care team at the Rush Outpatient Chest Pain Center. He is now on the right medications and has learned how to adjust his diet to lower his cholesterol and blood pressure. He has also started a new exercise routine to strengthen his heart further.
Bob feels lucky to have found the Rush Outpatient Chest Pain Center when he did. “With a blockage like that, I was within two to three minutes of the check-out lane," says Bob. He was able to quickly get the answers and care he needed. "Everything’s done right away ― no waiting," says Bob. “That was really important to me. And your staff, I think they’re the best. I’d go back in a heartbeat."
Bob's Story
