Home > News > Barbara Brumfiel Says Heart Scan Saved Her Life| Barbara Brumfiel Says Heart Scan Saved Her Life - 7/19/2012 |
Barbara Brumfiel is typical of most women. When she is tired she attributes it to something benign like being too busy or her age. Now she knows to pay attention to what her body is telling her after her recent recovery from heart surgery.
The Citizens State Bank retiree always had an active lifestyle, but recently she had to force herself to get up in the morning to get to the gym. One hot day in May she had been working in the yard and just didn''t feel good and began listing excuses for being tired and out of breath.
A friend recently had won a certificate for a $49 HeartScan at Henry County Hospital. She also was pressured by additional friends to get checked out.
Heart Scan Alerted Her To Serious Problem
"I had a HeartScan because of peer pressure," she said with a laugh.
Barbara wasn't laughing when her cardiac calcium score came back with an 802. She received a call from the office of her primary care physician Robert Stevenson, MD at New Castle Family & Internal Medicine as he wanted to see her about her HeartScan.
"He referred me to Henry County Cardiology right away," she said. Barbara then was the next cardiac catheterization scheduled in Henry County Hospital's new Cardiovascular Center.
"I was a nervous wreck," she confessed. "I burst into tears when the nurse greeted me."
Henry County Hospital and St.Vincent Health Collaborated On Care
Following the procedure, Nathan Millikan, MD, FACC informed her she would need a stent and her next appointment was at St.Vincent Heart Center, Indianapolis.
"Everyone was so nice and so friendly here," the New Castle resident said about her local experience. "Joe (a nurse/tech with St.Vincent Heart Center) assured me he would be with me again in Indianapolis. I was scared to death when I arrived," she related. "I asked ''where''s Joe?'' and they went and got him for me. He remembered me and stayed with me.
"I felt very comfortable there. I can't tell you how much better it makes you feel when they know you," she explained.
It was just 3 working days from Barbara's procedure in New Castle to her procedure in Indianapolis where her doctor corrected the 95% blockage.
"I feel good," she proclaimed less than a week after the stent was put in place, but admitted she did overdo it a little when she first came home.
Barbara is now an advocate for HeartScans and credits the one she had for saving her life.
For information on how to schedule your heart scan call 521.1415
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