Jerry McCain prayed the pain he felt in his chest one morning last summer would go away. Instead, it got worse.

“It started right after I ate breakfast,” said McCain, 64, of Smithland. “The pain never went away, so I decided to go to the doctor.” 

McCain’s doctor in Calvert City immediately put him in an ambulance and sent him to Western Baptist Hospital, the region’s first nationally-accredited chest pain center.

McCain was having a heart attack. Cardiologist Sanjay Bose, M.D., met the couple in the Emergency department before rushing McCain in for a heart catheterization.

Dr. Bose said most heart attacks involve pain in the center of the chest that lasts for a few minutes or goes away and then returns. During the heart cath, Dr. Bose found blockage in one of McCain’s arteries and opened it up with a stent.

“Dr. Bose checked my husband over like he was part of his family,” Gaylene said. “He seemed to care about the person lying there, not just the patient. He explained everything in a very calm manner. I would recommend anyone who has a heart problem to go to him. Being in his presence gives you a calm feeling.”

If you have questions about heart attack or stroke symptoms, speak to a Western Baptist nurse anytime 24 hours a day at the Chest Pain & Stroke Hotline: 1-800-575-1911.

Western Baptist will host a Heart Health Fair from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Feb. 25, in the atrium of Doctors Office Building 2. Free screenings will include EKG, cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar. Phone (270) 575-2895 for more information.