My story: Time flies. So does LifeLink III.
Dr. Bill Phillips draws on personal experience when caring for patients with heart disease symptoms.
Dr. Bill Phillips had already seen patients at Buffalo Lake Nursing Home and was about to begin his day at the GRHS Stewart Clinic. But something wasn’t right – he felt terrible. Virus symptoms had annoyed him for a few days, but they seemed manageable, and there were patients waiting. Suddenly, he felt a squeezing, crushing pressure – “like an elephant on my chest”– and collapsed. Snapping into emergency mode, Stewart Clinic nurse Anna Kuttner was on the phone calling 911.
Stewart staff notified the ER in Glencoe that Dr. Phillips was on his way. His condition had quickly been identified as a suspected “Level 1” heart attack. Level 1 means that even before Dr. Phillips arrived at the Glencoe ER, the staff had summoned the LifeLink III helicopter. A dozen people in Glencoe and Minneapolis – and in the air, heading for the GRHS helipad – were paving the way for his transfer to Abbott Northwestern Hospital for emergency angioplasty.
Dr. Douglas Wagoner, family medicine physician, was working in the ER that day. Though Dr. Phillips’ EKG, X-ray and blood tests did not indicate a heart attack, Dr. Wagoner and the staff continued to treat their patient for severe pain. Later tests revealed acute viral pericarditis, a dangerous inflammation of the tissue around the heart.
The LifeLink III helicopter, with Dr. Phillips inside, headed for the helipad at Abbott Northwestern, and within 20 minutes, he was in the care of a waiting cardiologist. Time from Stewart to Glencoe to Minneapolis, ready for surgery in the cardiac catheter lab: just seventy-five power-packed, Level-1 minutes.
Now recovered and adapting his lifestyle to allow better balance, Dr. Phillips wants everyone to be on the lookout for heart disease. His advice: “If there’s a family history of it, discuss it with your doctor, even if you’re not having symptoms. Talk about a daily aspirin regimen. Men over 40: Have a physical every two years. Men over 50: Have an annual physical. Women: Your heart disease symptoms may be harder to recognize, so discuss heart health at your checkups. Don’t wait for a crisis.
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