|
|
Cardiac Rehab
|
Meet Myrna Jantson ~ |
As a
retired Salem Central School biology teacher
who taught for nearly
20 years, Myrna Jantson knows
her fair share about the human anatomy. So when her body started emitting warning signs one Sunday afternoon
in March 2001, she knew matters warranted immediate medical attention.
Myrna and her husband John were relaxing
in their Queensbury home when she experienced discomfort between her
shoulder blades and pain down her left arm. She recalled trying to stretch
her troubled back, “but the pain just wasn’t going away; it was
persistent … and that concerned me.”
Perhaps also
thinking of John, her partner for nearly
40 years who had undergone
coronary bypass surgery in 1985 following a ‘silent’ heart attack and
her own mother who survived a massive coronary at age 52, Myrna suggested
a trip to Glens Falls Hospital’s Emergency Care Center.
Always trust
your instincts. While cardiac monitoring, an EKG test and blood work
initially came back inconclusive, follow-up tests later that night
revealed cardiac enzymes present in her system indicative of a mild heart
attack. At midnight Sunday night, her doctor admitted Myrna into the
coronary care unit and booked her for a cardiac catheterization procedure
the next morning.
Afterward, her
cardiologist told her that following her instincts likely prevented a more
serious heart attack. “I had the pain, recognized the symptoms and got
to the hospital for treatment,” she said succinctly, emphasizing that
women often have different warning signs and symptoms of a heart attack
than men. “The fact that I did go as soon as I did was the reason that
more heart damage wasn’t done.”
The cardiac
procedure confirmed this fact, failing to find evidence of any serious
heart damage or coronary artery blockages, just a small blood clot as the
most likely culprit. After a week’s stay, in which the staff educated
Myrna on her medications, offered exercise and nutritional recommendations
and provided emotional and psychological support, she went home armed with
a small pharmacy – coumadin, beta blockers, lipitor, nitrogylcerin –
to relieve the pain and prevent any additional blood clots.
But getting
back on her feet was just the beginning. Enrolled by her doctor in a
36-session cardiac rehabilitation course, Myrna began exercising two
nights a week at the hospital’s Wellness Center with a cardiac
rehabilitation nurse monitoring her vital signs. In addition to the
workout sessions, designed to restore some of her lost cardiac function,
Myrna learned about essential stress management techniques through the
program’s lecture series.
While the
couple already adhered to a low-fat/low-cholesterol diet following her
husband’s bypass surgery, the program’s advice, particularly on
exercise and stress management, left a lasting impression. “I’ve come
to realize that stress has much more impact on our bodies than we’d like
to admit,” she said, noting that she never smoked, had high blood
pressure nor was a couch potato. Admittedly, her family history probably
contributed to her heart attack, but she can’t obviously modify that
risk factor. “I can’t do anything about the family history,” said
the grandmother of two and mother of three grown children, “but I can
about the stress and my weight.”
Myrna’s new
philosophy is to “control what you can control,” an approach that
allows her to take matters in stride and enjoy the moment.
“I’m trying
to take things as they are and accept one day at a time,” she said, now
working toward shedding a few excess pounds through regular Wellness
Center sessions and reducing her stress by having someone clean her house
every two weeks.
While her
part-time housekeeper makes the house look tidy every other week, the
heart attack survivor has made up her mind to count her blessings daily:
“I think you should make the most of every day and enjoy what you
have.”
