A team of nurses and physicians worked together recently to provide life saving treatment for a heart attack victim in the rural community of Tyne Valley.
Last month, Charles MacDougall was feeling a bit of indigestion, weakness, sweating, and was not feeling well overall. He mentioned his condition to his wife Judy who promptly drove him to Stewart Memorial Hospital. Charles was definitely in denial that anything serious was happening to him. Little did he know he was experiencing the early stages of a heart attack.
Charles was treated with thrombolytic therapy. The therapy involves a medication given through an intravenous which dissolves blood clots. Some people compare it to using drano on pipes at home as it clears blood clots along its path. Like any medication, there are risks involved, however the benefits far out weigh the risks.
Following the therapy, Charles was transferred to Prince County Hospital for further treatment under Dr. Carmody, who then later referred him to Halifax for an angioplasty procedure.
The Stewart Memorial Hospital healthcare team that helped Charles initially deal with his heart attack included Dr. Roy Montgomery, Kelly Blanchard -RN, Aleah McLennan - RN, Mitchell Currie - LNA, Dawn Jones - LNA, Verna Barlow - Lab Technician, and Nurse Coordinator Cheryl Doran. This dedicated group of health professionals is a testament to the team approach so important to healthcare.
Aleah McLennan, RN, noted that, "The success of using the thrombolytic therapy procedure was very rewarding to her as a nurse. The staff had a little celebration afterward to recognize a job well done."
Nurse Coordinator Cheryl Doran added, "The staff members were elated after they realized that they had made such a difference in the MacDougall family's life. People throughout Stewart Memorial Hospital were buzzing about the wonderful event that had just occurred. In today's challenging healthcare environment, successes such as this one are very rewarding for staff. Those who work in healthcare want to make a difference because they care."
The public has often heard about the signs and symptoms of a heart attack including chest pain often described as a heaviness, fullness, crushing or stabbing pain which may or may not travel across the back, down into the arms or up into the jaw, nausea or indigestion, or sweating, weakness or dizziness, and sometimes shortness of breath.
The key when these symptoms occur is getting to the nearest hospital Emergency Department in a timely fashion. Thrombolytic therapy can be given up to 6 hours after the first symptoms of a heart attack appear, however 6 hours can result in a lot of dead heart muscle. If people get to the hospital quick enough, medical staff might be able to decrease the size of the heart attack which can mean less complications down the road.
Charles MacDougall and his family found out first hand the just how important it is to go to the emergency room right away if a person is experiencing symptoms of a heart attack.
"When dealing with a heart attack, I now know that time is such an important issue," noted Charles. "I have heard of people who were experiencing symptoms in the middle of the night and didn't want to bother going to check things out until the morning. I now know that a lot of damage can be done over time and I am one of the lucky ones."
Once destroyed, heart muscle does not regenerate itself and a strong healthy heart is required to pump oxygen to the rest of the body.
Today, Charles is enjoying his life and his family in Tyne Valley and has no serious damage to his heart as a result of his heart attack experience. He credits his success to the professionalism of medical staff at Stewart Memorial Hospital and others who provided further treatment, and to his wife for getting him to the hospital so promptly.