Clifton Hogue can’t forget the heart attack he had 21 years ago.
“I noticed a month before I had surgery that I was getting short of breath,” the Bowling Green man said. “There were days I could hardly get around, and then the next day I’d be in good shape.”
Then at 11 p.m. one night toward the end February of that year, his body felt very hot.
“I thought I was totally going to burn up,” he said. “I was hurting in my chest and down both arms.”
Hogue broke out in a cold sweat and went to cool himself on the patio in the winter air. His wife, Jewel, finally persuaded him to go to the hospital. Once there, the news he received was startling.
“They said I was just ready to have a massive heart attack. I had blockages,” he said. “I was scared. You hear about these things, but they don’t happen to you.”
Local cardiologists Dr. Beth Bryant and Dr. Mohammed Kazimuddin agree that heart disease is one of the leading causes of death in the United States.
“More people die of heart disease than of cancer,” Bryant said.
Risks of heart disease include family history, smoking, obesity, hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes, end-stage kidney disease and peripheral vascular disease. With the exception of family history, many factors can be controlled, which means knowing your numbers when it comes to things such as blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes.
“Can you stop smoking? Can you take care of your diabetes? Can you take care of your cholesterol?” Kazimuddin said. “Prevention is a major issue. There’s an important goal of day-to-day management. What you can do, you should do.”
Prevention can include medication, diet, weight loss and exercise, Bryant said.
“The American College of Cardiology recommends 60 minutes of moderate activity every day of the week,” she said.
And heart disease can occur at any age, Bryant said.
“If a person is younger than 30, you have to think about other causes such as cocaine or methamphetamines,” she said.
Heart disease is most prevalent in men over age 45 who have at least two risk factors and women over age 55 who have at least three risk factors, Kazimuddin said. The signs include pressure-like chest pain radiating to the neck and arms, shortness of breath and sweating. Women may describe their symptoms differently.
“Women have an atypical description,” he said. “They may say, ‘I’m short of breath. I’m fatigued. I’m tired.’ ”
If someone is having a heart attack, it is important to act quickly, Kazimuddin said.
“It should be five minutes between feeling chest pains and calling the ambulance,” he said.
Hogue had triple bypass surgery 21 years ago and had a stent put in about six years ago. He said he has been doing well. To stay healthy, he goes to Cardiac Rehab at The Medical Center to exercise three days a week and is active at home. He also watches what he eats.
“I’m doing something all the time,” he said. “I keep the fried food and grease down to once every two or three weeks.”
The Hogues are active in The Medical Center’s Mended Hearts support group for people who have heart disease or who have had a heart procedure. The group meets at 7 p.m. the fourth Monday of each month at the hospital.
“I visit all the heart patients who come in and take them a heart pillow and literature. I try to see them before and after surgery,” he said. “I really enjoy meeting the people and talking to them.”
The couple also go to The Heart Institute at The Medical Center’s Heart Reunion, which brings together former patients and staff to celebrate their success in fighting heart disease. The next reunion will be at 2 p.m. Feb. 21 at the Knights of Columbus Hall. Honorees should preregister by Feb. 19 by calling 796-3330. The event includes music, heart-healthy finger foods, door prizes and a presentation about updates in cardiac surgery.
“It started in the 1990s,” Don Johnson, cardiac nurse liaison with The Heart Institute, said of the reunion. “(Organizers) thought it would be a good idea to help not only the patients, but the staff to see patients after their surgeries and see how their lives have changed. They see how their work has paid off.”
