Heart patient Leon Fowler of Paducah recovers in his hospital room.

Leon Fowler has been part of Western Baptist Hospital’s cardiac history—twice. As a special procedures tech in 1977, he assisted cardiologist Lowell Roberts, M.D., with the hospital’s first heart catheterization.

More than 30 years later, Fowler himself had the first emergency heart cath in the new Baptist Heart Center.

Fowler, 59, worked in Baptist’s cath lab for more than 18 years before taking a job with the U.S. Enrichment Corporation (USEC). He was at work Monday, June 18, when he had pain and pressure in his left chest.

“I first noticed the sensation the Friday before,” said Fowler. “I had been jogging and felt pressure in my upper chest that then moved to my throat. The feeling subsided, and I dismissed it as a pulled muscle.”

When the feeling returned that Monday, Fowler knew it could be a sign of something much more ominous than a pulled muscle.

“I had the background to know something may be wrong with my heart,” said Fowler.

Western Baptist cardiologist James Gwinn, M.D., performed an emergency heart cath where he found multiple blockages and an occluded right artery. Cardiothoracic surgeon James O’Rourke, M.D., then performed bypass surgery.

Fowler had no prior heart-health issues, but knows that his family history likely played a role in his condition.

“I’m very active,” said Fowler. “I jog three to four days a week, eat healthy and exercise. But my father died at 40 from a heart attack, and my grandparents also had heart disease. In the back of mind, I knew I was at risk.”

Do you know your risk factors for heart disease? Find out online at westernbaptist.com/heart.