25-Year-Old Heart Stent Replacement Renews Man's Life

Randy Rogers suffered a heart attack 25 years ago, and a stent had served him well.

Shortness of Breath, Chest Pain from Clogged Stent

Still, a quarter century of living took its toll, making it challenging to walk to his mailbox without losing his breath – and that was despite taking a lot of nitroglycerin to manage chest pain. Furthermore, Rogers didn’t have a high opinion of doctors, nurses and insurance providers, and that made it all too easy to keep his distance from health care.

It seems a major issue was necessary to change his heart about caregivers.

Rogers’ health concerns reached a tipping point when his cardiology nurse practitioner, Abbie Schrader, ARNP, at UnityPoint Health – Allen Hospital Cardiovascular Center, said she was worried he wouldn’t make it to his next exam.

So, the 72-year-old Waverly man underwent an angioplasty and saw cardiothoracic surgeon Bhavik Patel, MD, who confirmed the severity of the situation. Rogers had just one working artery, a bad valve and the old stent was completely clogged. Dr. Patel gave him a max of two years and recommended open-heart surgery.

Rogers’ heart wasn’t the only concern. He had significant dental issues, too, and the surgery team insisted he resolve those before undergoing the procedure. That’s because bacteria in the mouth is easily passed into the body, which increases the risk of infection during recovery. As a result, he had 15 teeth extracted two weeks before the procedure.

25-Year-Old Stent Replaced Through Open-Heart Bypass Surgery

"The day I went in for surgery, you know, I'd never done anything like it before, and it was kind of scary," Rogers recalls. “If you’re honest, you don't know if you're gonna make it, and that's always in the back of your mind, even if you try to put it away."

Surgery went well. Dr. Patel and his team did a Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG) and aortic valve replacement at Allen Hospital. Rogers spent time in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and then a separate floor specializing in cardiovascular care. He now sees Hailey Robertson, DNP, for his follow-up care.

However, one thought has stayed with him in the weeks since his discharge.

"Phenomenal" Nurses Support Surgery Recovery

"The nurses were absolutely phenomenal,” he says. "The doctors are good, and everybody knows that what they can do is amazing. But all the stuff the nurses did … they're in contact with you all the time, and they're doing the nastiest things. And at 72 years old, you know, the position they saw me in a lot of times was not good."

"But this is what they do, and they do it smiling. I remember the one time the nurse came in and she starts wrapping her pants up and put rubber bands around the bottom of them. She says, ‘You gotta take a shower today, and we can't leave you in there by yourself. You have to have somebody help you. Then I joked, 'Boy, you drew the short straw on this one!’ It was just amazing what they did, and every one of them was that way."

Full Recovery After Cardiac Rehab

Fast forward three months and Rogers feels like a new man. He’s finishing up cardiac rehab in Waverly, and he’s been grateful for the diligence, care and support he’s experienced. He walks nearly two miles each day in his neighborhood and feels better than he has in many years. It’s allowed him to return to his hobby of flying radio-controlled airplanes. The experience has also renewed his trust in health care. It’s something he made clear in a note to Allen Hospital following surgery. He wrote:

The nurses are on a level above everything else. They have a dirty job to do, and they do it with a smile. I can't say enough good about the care that I received during my heart surgery. I'm healing well, and I think a lot of credit for that is due to the nursing staff. I highly recommend any heart work should be done at Allen Hospital. Thanks for everything you did – all of you. — Randy