What You Can't See CAN Hurt You: Don't Neglect Your Heart!

What You Can’t See CAN Hurt You: Don’t Neglect Your Heart!

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by Matt Watson, EMSCI #148
New Castle County (DE) EMS

My name is Matt Watson. I am 56 years old and have been in EMS for 33 years, more than 27 as a medic. In 2000, my department started an EMS Bike Team. I was one of the original members and was part of the first group from our team to take the IPMBA course in 2001. I have been helping coordinate the team since the early years. In 2004, I became an IPMBA EMSCI and have actively taught ever since.

My health story is all too common in the public safety field. I was overweight but extremely active. I have diabetes. I like my beer and I love food. I have lived hard, worked hard, and played hard all of my life. I was the picture of a workaholic. An average week for me was 60, 70, or even 80 hours a week at work. I didn’t think too seriously about my own health.

My wife had bugged me for several months to switch cardiologists to one she felt was much more aggressive than the cardiologist I had been with for several years. To be honest, my cardiologist was the kind of doctor I liked. The kind that did not give me a hard time. The kind that would tell me to call back if I had a problem as long as I denied having any problems. He basically let me direct my cardiac care. What more could I ask for?

Finally, in May or June I gave in to my wife and went to this new doctor. I had actually dealt with him several times as a family member’s cardiologist, and really liked the attention he paid to his patients.

So, I called his office and scheduled an appointment. During that first appointment, it became obvious that I was not going to be able to dictate my care plan here. He ran bloodwork that I had never even heard of. He did a 2-D ECHO and sent me for a cardiac CTA. As it turned out, that test set the next phase of my life in motion.

At the end of June, I had walked into my HQ and told my boss that I was not going to work any overtime in July. I was also scheduled for two weeks of vacation. So, I decided I was only going to work about eight shifts the whole month. Normally, I only have five or six days off at most during any given month, but I just felt like I had to take a break.

While on vacation, I decided to replace 200 feet of split rail fence. During this time period it was in the upper 90’s with nearly 100% humidity every day. On July 18, I was scheduled for the cardiac CTA. I went and had it done, came home, and went right back out to work on the fence. We have four dogs and I needed to get this fence back up.

About two hours after getting home, my wife came out of the house with a look of panic on her face. She made me sit down while she read the CTA results from the patient portal. The report indicated my LAD (left anterior descending) artery was significantly blocked, so she called the cardiologist right then. He told me to not exert myself too much and scheduled me for the next available non-emergent cardiac cath. That was not until August 5.

Naturally, I went back to finishing the fence so we could stop walking our four large dogs by leash multiple times a day. I did take lots of breaks and kept well hydrated.

However, I ended up in the ER on July 30 with some chest pain and the cath was moved up to August 1. I went into the cath confident that I was going to walk away or, at worst, get a stent.

I was laying on the cath table laughing it up with everyone. I knew one of the nurses from when she was an EMT 20 plus years earlier, and I had met some of the cath team over the years being a medic and having been a part-time flight medic for that hospital.

The mood was very upbeat in that room until suddenly it was not. The room fell deathly quiet and nobody was talking or joking anymore. I remember that moment I felt so unbelievably cold and alone. The lights came up and the doctor told me that we needed to have a talk.

I vividly remember him telling me that he normally would stent just about anything, but he did not want to stent me. He said he would finish the cath and then we would talk more, but that he was not going to do anything else that day.

My wife and I met with my cardiologist and the doctor who did the cath later that day. They both said that a CABG (coronary artery bypass graft) was pretty much the only reasonable option. I was told that I could elect to get a stent but that the odds the stent would fail within weeks to months was pretty high. After a long talk with my wife, I realized that a CABG was the only option. I did not have a heart attack. My heart function was normal and there were no signs of any muscle damage. It was made clear to us that the best option was to get the bypass before any damage was done.

The next four days were full of talking: with my wife, my mom, my kids, my siblings, my friends, and clergy. I had made peace with what was going to happen. I don’t remember ever asking, “why me?” For years, I overlooked my own health, justifying that I could not be too sick. “Look how active I am, look at how much I work, look at how I can ride circles around many of the younger folks on our bike team!” When it came to my health, I mostly took a “what I can’t see can’t hurt me” mentality.

The night before my CABG, I sat in my hospital room. I had said my goodbyes to my wife, my mom, and my kids. My surgeon came in, pulled up a chair, and we talked. I asked him to give me the real picture of what was going to happen. He knew my EMS background and he did not BS me.

He told me that the first couple of days would be hell, but that things should rapidly improve since I did not have any heart damage. He also told me that my progress and return to work would be largely based on how motivated I am as a patient. He said his impression from our brief conversation and from talking to my cardiologist is that I would be a very motivated patient. As he left the room, I realized I was totally at peace with what was going to happen in just a few short hours. I actually got one of the best night’s sleep I had gotten in years.

I remember the next morning up to the point they gave me Versed (a sedative). The next memory was being extubated, which sucked. And then I remember talking to my cardiologist very late Friday night. On Saturday, I woke to find all these tubes and wires sticking out of me. I had a decent amount of pain Saturday and Sunday, especially at night, but on Monday, I woke up with no real pain.

I pushed myself to get the water weight off over the next couple of days and had all the tubes and wires out by Tuesday afternoon. Then Wednesday I was sent home. I realized at this point that I had a new lease on life.

I took it easy for a couple of days and only walked to the end of the driveway and back a few times. I refused to sit any more than I had to. On my post-surgical follow-up via Zoom, I reminded the surgeon that I had told him the night before the surgery that as soon as he said I could walk, I would walk and walk and walk. On August 12, I was told to walk as much as I could. Well, over the next 10 days, I logged 110 miles of walking around my neighborhood and the three nearby neighborhoods.

On October 28, I was cleared to return to full, unrestricted duty — twelve weeks from my surgery. I was told by my cardiologist before the surgery that it would be up to five months before I could return to this kind of work. The surgeon had said a minimum of 12 weeks.

My cardiologist was uneasy with that time frame until he got my cardiac rehab reports about how hard I was working and how far ahead of the normal pace I was. He agreed to the 12 weeks. My first shift was Sunday, October 30, and on Tuesday, November 1, I started teaching a four-day IPMBA EMS Cyclist Course.

I am truly blessed. I have been given a second chance at life. If my wife had not pushed me to see this doctor, I am sure I would have died by now or at least be a cardiac cripple.

I never took my health seriously enough. I assumed that being fatigued all the time was the result of years of working too much, eating too much, and drinking too much. Now, while I am sure those all contributed to me always being tired, I am equally sure that my proximal LAD being 97+ % blocked was also a big factor.

I am so fortunate that this was found and fixed without having a heart attack or damage. I cannot stress enough that if you are in your 40’s or 50’s or older and work in public safety, see a cardiologist. Make sure that cardiologist is aggressive. Push to have tests done early. Start making lifestyle changes before you have to, or before you can’t.

None of us are invincible. We can’t help others if we need help ourselves. You are worth staying alive.

Photos courtesy of Matt Watson.

Matt has been in EMS for 33 years, including 27 as a medic. He was a founding member of the New Castle County EMS Bike Team. He was certified as an IPMBA EMS Cyclist in 2001 and as an IPMBA EMS Cyclist Instructor in 2004. He can be reached at pmedic550@hotmail.com.

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