Cardiac Services

Bernice Alexander’s two-day trip with her husband from the couple’s home in Cincinnati to the Circleville Pumpkin Show wasn’t supposed to include a life-saving visit to the Adena Heart and Vascular Institute’s cardiac catheterization lab.

But it did, and the 77-year-old grandmother is very thankful that interventional cardiologist Hafeez Hassan, MD, and the staff in the emergency room, cardiac catheterization laboratory, and intensive care unit were ready and waiting to provide the quality care required in her time of need.

The couple was enjoying their first day at the annual festival, and while her husband waited in line for some pumpkin donuts, Bernice stepped away to look at something else. That’s when things started to go wrong.

“I was coming back to join my husband to go on with the rest of the day and I just felt a pain in my chest,” she recalled. “I took about 10 more steps and told him I just wasn’t feeling well.”

When things didn’t improve after taking a few minutes to rest, the decision was made to call 911. Two firefighters arrived, checked her vitals, and made sure she wasn’t having a stroke while awaiting arrival of an ambulance.

She wasn’t, but there was enough cause for concern to get Bernice to a hospital as soon as possible. Thankfully, she said, Adena Regional Medical Center was the hospital selected for her care.

After being quickly evaluated upon arrival, she was rushed to the cardiac catheterization lab where her care team was ready and waiting, including Dr. Hassan with “a reassuring smile” that gave her confidence.

Bernice was suffering a heart attack from a 100% blockage in the main artery bringing blood to the heart, one commonly referred to as a widowmaker. If not caught and addressed quickly, such a blockage can result in death. Fortunately for Bernice, Dr. Hassan provided that rapid response, inserting a stent to reopen the artery and restore the free flow of blood.

Time is critical in situations such as Bernice’s, and the amount of time that passed from her arrival at the hospital to the insertion of the stent was just 31 minutes. The response bested the national benchmark observed by the American College of Cardiology National Cardiovascular Data Registry for time of arrival to activation of the device used to resolve the problem, which is 90 minutes or less.

As someone who leads a very active life centered around spending time with grandchildren and participating in community activities, she was pleased that she had no problems during her recovery and was back in her “comfort zone” of activity within the first two weeks following the procedure.

Bernice said she didn’t have a prior history of heart problems that she was aware of or any other serious medical conditions. That’s why what happened to her was so unexpected and shocking.

“I had no indication that something like this might happen,” she said. “It was just like the snap of a finger, that quickly.”

That being the case, Bernice said the local community is very fortunate to have physicians such as Dr. Hassan and the skilled professional nurses and staff at Adena Health available close to home for those times when the unexpected happens. Because of the care she received, Bernice not only traveled the 90 minutes back to Adena just two weeks after her heart attack for a follow up appointment, but also has chosen to make the drive to Chillicothe for her regular cardiac care.

“Dr. Hassan was pleasant and positive and did a great job, I was very pleased,” she said. “When you are in a town that’s not your own, you may wonder about the hospital and its capabilities and the staff’s skills. When I got to Adena, everybody was very capable and reassuring. They were professional and pleasant and didn’t make me feel like an outsider.

“They took good care of me. They were excellent, really.”