Vim & Vigor - Fall 2012 - Gwinnett Medical Center - (Page 50)

Heart From the Earlier this year, Duluth’s Emma Caldwell and Lawrenceville’s Oliver “Porky” Byrd both su ered from critical cardiac events and would come to appreciate the Strickland Heart Center CALDWELL’S STORY Emma Caldwell After a trip to Jacksonville, Fla., where she experienced extremely low energy levels and chest pain, Emma Caldwell went to the Gwinnett Medical Center–Duluth Emergency Department—a trip that took great coercion from her daughter Sheena, a GMC employee, and her husband, Willie. “Following an EKG, I was told that I had a heart attack while in Jacksonville,” Caldwell says. “The next day, I was transported to the Strickland Heart Center in Lawrenceville. Physicians attempted a PCI [percutaneous coronary intervention, or stenting], but I had two blocked arteries and one was 90 percent blocked.” Caldwell required open heart bypass surgery, which was performed by David Langford, M.D., a lead cardiovascular surgeon at the Strickland Heart Center. “Prior to this, I didn’t know I had any heart issues, so the procedure was a total surprise to me,” Caldwell says. “I was in denial and not listening to my body.” Now, Caldwell is following the doctor’s plan of eating a diet low in fat, sodium and cholesterol, and exercising more. “Dr. Langford, the nurses and other cardiac professionals demonstrate amazing experience and skill, but also manage to show a very human side,” Caldwell says. Today, Caldwell is very glad her family insisted on taking her to the hospital. “I feel a lot better than before the surgery and have more energy,” she says. 50 Vim & Vigor · FALL 2 012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Vim & Vigor - Fall 2012 - Gwinnett Medical Center

Vim & Vigor - Fall 2012 - Gwinnett Medical Center
Contents
Phil’s Feature
Good Times for a Good Cause
Warm Fuzzies
30 Days to Better Sleep
I Can’t Ask My Doctor That!
He Said, She Said
Hold On to Your Health
Still A Screening Star
Your Joints: An Owner’s Manual
Weighing Your Options
No Greater Gift
Weather Alert
Virtual Health
PrimeTime Health
From the Heart
Putting Everything in Place
Out of the White Coat
Transforming Healthcare

Vim & Vigor - Fall 2012 - Gwinnett Medical Center