Heart patient praises ER, CCU staff during stay at hospital
Gretta Rose drove herself to Western Baptist Hospital’s Emergency department last month after experiencing unusual pain on her right side, fatigue and indigestion during work.
Minutes later she was being evaluated for heart problems.
“I thought, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me,’” she said. “I am 42 years old and I can’t believe this is happening to me. I’m not overweight, but stress is definitely a contributor.”
Rose, of Paducah, was admitted to the Cardiac Care Unit so cardiologist Kenneth Ford, M.D., could perform a heart cath the next day. The heart cath revealed Rose was suffering from a coronary artery spasm. Fortunately, she had no heart disease or blockages.
A coronary artery spasm is a brief, temporary tightening of the muscles in the artery wall that occurs in about four of every 100,000 people. It can briefly decrease or even prevent blood flow to part of the heart muscle, leading to chest pain and possibly a heart attack if the spasm lasts long enough. It is one of many conditions that may affect your heart, noteworthy during American Heart Month.
“We treat this by giving medications that dilate the artery by relaxing the layer of muscle,” Dr. Ford said. “The symptoms are the same as if you had a cholesterol blockage. Spasm is usually brought on by emotional stress, but it can occur spontaneously.”
Besides taking medication, Rose is learning to manage her stress and lower her high blood pressure.
“I think I may have saved myself some possible heart damage by listening to my body and going to the ER,” Rose said. “You have to listen to your body. No favoritism is shown when it comes to heart problems, that’s for sure.”
Dr. Ford said women experiencing heart problems tend to have more unusual pain than men, such as back, neck and shoulder pain, nausea or abdominal pain.
Rose said the ER staff responded quickly to her symptoms, while the CCU staff calmed her fears.
“Everybody was so wonderful,” she said. “I felt like I was the only person in the whole hospital. My life was in their hands. I never had this experience before and I don’t care to have another one, but I can’t say enough how wonderful everyone was. Western Baptist promotes its heart care and it should. It was wonderful.”
Western Baptist was recently named one of the nation’s 100 Top Hospitals for cardiovascular care by Thomson Reuters. For help identifying signs and symptoms of a heart attack or stroke, phone our award-winning Chest Pain and Stroke Hotline at 1-800-575-1911 to speak with a registered nurse at Western Baptist.