From a story by Arielle Williams Miles with
McLeod Emergency Physician Dr. Timothy Holdredge
McLeod Interventional Cardiologist Dr. Ravi Parikh
McLeod Intensivist Dr. Bill Hazelwood
McLeod Cardiologist Dr. John Patton

A cardiac nurse for years, Cheraw resident Mary Hinson awoke one night with an extreme pain running from her left shoulder down to her left fingertips. Thinking it was her rheumatoid arthritis, she applied an over-the-counter medication – with no relief. Her husband Jay insisted they head to the Cheraw Emergency Department.

After performing an echocardiogram (EKG), Emergency Department physician Dr. Timothy Holdredge confirmed a heart attack and administered blood thinners.

Mary then boarded a medic helicopter for a short, 12-minute flight to McLeod Regional Medical Center in Florence, where she was admitted for an emergency procedure in the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory.

Within minutes of her arrival, Interventional Cardiologist Dr. Ravi Parikh with McLeod Cardiology Associates had opened the 99% blocked artery in Mary’s heart to restore blood flow and placed a stent to help keep the artery open. Her procedure was successful, and Mary recovered in the Cardiac Care Unit (CCU) soon after.

During Mary’s stay in the CCU, she was under the care of McLeod Intensivist Dr. Bill Hazelwood. In addition to monitoring her condition, Dr. Hazelwood even sang and harmonized with Mary.

McLeod Cardiologist Dr. John Patton, who also sees patients in Cheraw, handled Mary’s follow-up cardiac care for the remainder of her Florence hospital stay. While she was still in the hospital, an EKG revealed Mary’s heart attack had weakened her heart muscle, causing significantly reduced pumping function.

As a precaution, Dr. Patton wanted to monitor Mary’s heart, so she was  given a LifeVest, a wearable cardioverter defibrillator, upon discharge. The LifeVest allows patients to enjoy daily activities with the security of knowing their device can send an intuitive shock to restore normal heart rhythms, if needed

A week after returning home from the hospital, Mary began participating in the Cardiac Rehabilitation program at McLeod Health Cheraw.  The program worked so well for Mary that her heart pumping function increased significantly enough that after only five weeks post heart attack, she was able to take off the LifeVest for good.

For more details on this story and procedures, click here and check page 18.