Preventive Heart Care 'Saved My Life'

While playing with his five grandkids, who are all under the age of 10, Jack Horner started to get fatigued a lot more than normal and was also experiencing shortness of breath. Having been in the medical field for most of his career, he knew it was time to see a doctor.

Horner, who is the president and CEO of Major Health Partners in Shelbyville, Ind., visited his primary care physician, who referred him to Franciscan Physician Network Indiana Heart Physicians. He then met with Mark Jones, MD, and Anthony Bashall, MD, at Indiana Heart Physicians, who did a stress test to check to see if the vessels in his heart were obstructed.

'A Very Anxious Moment'

Horner's stress test revealed that he had some blockage and needed a heart catheterization.

“The staff was very attentive to me, because it is obviously a very anxious moment when you go in and have a cardiac procedure,” said Horner. “The staff was able to put me at ease and explain what was going to happen, what to expect and what I would be going through afterwards.”

The heart catheterization went smoothly, and Horner had almost no pain at all. In fact, he was back home that same afternoon.

Routine Visits Led To Early Diagnosis

Horner continued heart care with annual follow up visits with the Indiana Heart Physicians team. It was later discovered that he had atherosclerosis, a buildup of plaque in the vessels. This made it key that he regularly visited Dr. Bashall and Dr. Jones, who recommended that he have routine screening procedures, ultrasounds and CT scans. During one of the ultrasounds, it was found that Horner had an abdominal aneurysm in the aorta. This is a very serious condition, which can be fatal about 75 percent of the time.

Immediately, Horner was referred to Thomas Webb, MD, of Franciscan Physician Network Vascular Surgeons Indianapolis. Dr. Webb reviewed the tests and saw a 6.6-centimeter abdominal aneurysm, which called normally would call for an open aneurysm repair, but he felt he could fix it endovascularly, which is minimally invasive.

“The bedside manner of the nurses and staff was excellent,” said Horner. “I found afterwards, having those procedures, that I got back to normal on being able to play with my grandkids, enjoy time and be able to go the ballgames. I did not have that fatigue and shortness of breath anymore.”

Horner is adamant about keeping on schedule with his regular routine of check-ups and screenings, encouraging others to do the same, especially when they believe something could be wrong.

“If you notice anything, from shortness of breath to an excess fatigue to just not feeling right, it’s important to talk to your primary care (doctor) and to talk to them about a referral to a cardiologist,” Horner said. “That’s what identified my problems. I’d also recommend that you do the active screenings on an annual basis. Those have caught conditions that I have had, such as an aneurysm. The preventative care of screenings is very important, and they saved my life.”

One more bump in the road awaited Horner during his annual check-ups. It was determined that he had an erratic heartrate, known known as atrial fibrillation, which can lead to stroke and other cardiovascular complications. This was treated by performing cardiac ablation, another minimally invasive procedure.

Thanks to the team at Franciscan Physician Network Indiana Heart Physicians, Horner is back to feeling like his old self again and spending plenty of time playing with his grandkids.

“My experience I’ve had with Franciscan and the cardiovascular care, from the medical standpoint to the cardiovascular surgery and also from the electrophysiology, has been excellent,” he said. “The values they possess as a clinical organization, along with having top-flight quality care, top-flight clinicians and staff, along with nurses and assistants is amazing.”