Climbing up the ladder, Bill Girton, a resident of Murrieta, thought he would be trimming his palm tree and getting some yard work done. Instead, he felt an overwhelming desire to lie down. He didn’t feel pain, but instead a deep pressure and general weakness. He slowly backed down the ladder, told his wife Dolly, “I am just going in to lie down for a minute”. Because his clothes were dirty, he lay down on the floor and his wife followed him in, knowing something was not right. She went to get help from a neighbor while Bill was sure he could shake it off by lying down for a bit longer. Their neighbor, a firefighter, advised them to get to a hospital right away and Dolly got Bill into the car and headed out. Dolly drove her husband into the ER entrance at Loma Linda University Medical Center – Murrieta, where she alerted the staff that she thought her husband was having a heart attack. And certainly, Bill was having a massive heart attack.
Heart attacks result when there is a blockage of one of the heart vessels which feed nutrients and oxygen to the muscle tissues of the heart. Depending on where the blockage is and what percentage is blocked, heart attacks will feel different to each person. Firefighter and EMT, David Moore, recently experienced a heart attack after a workout while driving his car home. His pain was on the right side of his chest, which is not typical. What prompted David to seek help was a glance into the rear view mirror, what he saw was his own face, absolutely void of color. He knew immediately, he was in serious trouble.
Heart disease continues to take more lives in the United States than any other disease or cause of death. Even with advancements in technology, medicines and interventions, the many different outcomes of heart disease are still, sadly, taking lives much too soon. Bill, 66 years of age and David, 46 years of age, both suffered the worst form of heart attacks and they both survived and have excellent prognosis. They each received rapid interventional procedures at LLUMC-Murrieta, the first and only provider of life-saving heart care in this region.
If you need to find a cardiologist or any other physician that is affiliated with LLUMC-Murrieta, please call 1-800-867-7011 to talk with a live person who can assist you 24/7/365. If you or a loved one suffers symptoms that are unusual, don’t hesitate, call 911.