Open Heart Surgery
Isn't As Much Fun as You Might Think.
Open
heart surgery was the furthest
thing from my mind. It was a
pleasant fall morning as my wife
Bernie and I casually drove to
Valley Heart Associates for a “routine” thallium
treadmill test.
There were
no early heart attack symptoms, no angina pain...just
a little tingling in my chest.
Upon arrival at the
cardiologist’s office the
proficient nurses wired me up to
the cardiac monitors and I was
looking forward to “showing them
my stuff”.
After what
seemed like an eternity on the treadmill (about two
minutes) the
technician
finally hit the stop switch, unhooked
me and guided me to a chair for
a very welcome rest.
A few minutes later a nurse
said, “The doctor would like to
see you now.” and ushered me
into the cardiologist’s office.
As I sat down he was staring at
my chart with a deep frown on
his face.
“I don’t like what I see here”,
he said, “You are a walking time
bomb. You need to go to the
hospital immediately.”
The possibility of open heart
surgery was looming its ugly
head. My wife and I were in a
state of shock as we drove to
the hospital and went through
the check-in process.
An angiogram revealed blockages
of 80% to 90% in several
arteries.
Two days later Dr. Hugh Tobin, a
highly skilled heart surgeon,
sawed open my heart and stitched
in bypasses to six of my
favorite arteries.
Yes, that's
three more
than triple
bypass
surgery!
In 1992 I retired from my day
job as president of a locally
owned bank and my wife Bernie
and I opened the Vital Life
Center, a health and wellness
club dedicated to finding
solutions that can empower
people to enjoy heart health for
life!
During the past 12 years we've
worked with hundreds of people,
many who have had open heart
surgery, and have seen dramatic
improvements in their
cholesterol, heart health,
energy and vitality by
implementing some simple, but
vital changes in their life.
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Our
wellness program for people over
age 50
was judged Number One in
California for four
years in a
row and in 1998 was judged 2nd in the
United States in competition
with more than 2,500 Health and
Sports Clubs.
In November 2004 we retired from
Vital Life and are now focused
on helping people all over the
world to live an energetic,
healthy and vital life...and
keeping them
from having
open heart
surgery.
The doctors
and nurses
seem
surprised
that I'm not on any prescription
drugs, my blood pressure is good,
cholesterol ratios are
fine and the
best thing
is that I have lots of
energy, sleep great and feel
like I could live a vital active
life for
many more
years.
This
has been accomplished by
following the recommendations
you will find on this website.
My goal is
to help you
learn from
my mistakes.
Believe me
open heart
surgery
isn't as
much fun as
you would
expect.
To learn how
to avoid
open heart
surgery take
a look at
How To
Prevent
Heart
Attacks.
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