Johnny “Bow” Matthews was preparing for bed when he felt a tightness in his chest he just couldn’t shake.
He tried to sleep, but chest pains wouldn’t let him drift off. He attempted to wake his wife, Deidra, but she wouldn’t budge.
The mother of two had been up and about all day, from preparing breakfast early in the morning to putting the kids in bed after dinner.
“I told her, ‘Hey, something’s wrong,’ but she was sleeping too deeply and wasn’t comprehending.”
Bow couldn’t afford to wait. As the pain and discomfort worsened, he dressed and drove to the emergency department at Wellstar Cobb Medical Center.
Article Category: PeopleCare
Wholehearted Healthcare
MatthewsCare
Published On August 11, 2020
Last updated 09:26 AM January 24, 2024
The Matthews family (pictured left to right: Bow, Canon, Chase and Deidra Matthews).
The most influential thing you can do for your health is to improve your lifestyle in terms of diet, exercise and losing weight. Usually, that is more powerful than any medicine that I can give you.
- Dr. Ravi Edupuganti
Wellstar Cardiologist
Listen to Bow's Story
The next morning, Deidra called out to Bow and got no answer.
“I saw his name light up on my phone. I picked it up and said, ‘Where are you?’ He told me he was in the emergency room. Then I became scared out of my mind.”
Overnight, Bow was diagnosed with a type of congestive heart failure called cardiomyopathy, where the muscle in the heart can enlarge, thicken or stiffen, leading to heart failure, irregular heartbeats and other complications.
There might be no symptoms in the early stages of cardiomyopathy. As the condition progresses, symptoms begin to manifest, such as shortness of breath, fatigue, rapid and fluttering heartbeats and chest discomfort—all of which Bow was experiencing.
Empowered decisions
Months after Bow’s diagnosis, Wellstar Cardiologist Dr. Ravi Edupuganti checked Bow’s heart function again. It still hadn’t improved enough.
“Only 50% of cardiomyopathy patients live beyond five years,” Dr. Edupuganti said, relaying the grim statistic. “I recommended that Bow get a defibrillator implanted. This would help him live longer.”
“I asked, ‘What other options are there?” Bow explained. “Thankfully, Dr. Edupuganti gave me another path to consider.”
“The most influential thing you can do for your health is to improve your lifestyle,” Dr. Edupuganti stressed.
Bow reiterated that he and Dr. Edupuganti had an excellent physician-patient relationship, and he really felt heard.
“We had such a great rapport,” Bow emphasized. “He gave me my options, and we talked about how to move forward. Dr. Edupuganti keeps me honest about my new lifestyle changes with diet and exercise. I couldn't imagine going to any other cardiologist. He let me know I was empowered, and it was completely my choice.”
From failure to success
At Dr. Edupuganti’s suggestion, Bow chose to attend the Heart Failure Academy at Wellstar, a free, four-week course at Wellstar for patients and their family members. The Academy is aimed at giving patients and their support system the tools to make the lifestyle changes necessary to manage their condition and keep them out of the hospital.
The Academy was everything Bow needed, and then some.
“I followed all the steps that the Heart Failure Academy provided. I changed my lifestyle, improved my diet and exercise, and I’m proud to say I’ve lost 83 pounds since my diagnosis.”
Then when Dr. Edupuganti checked Bow’s heart again months later, its function had improved so much that a defibrillator was no longer necessary.
“I remember how happy I was telling him and the huge smile that lit up his face. All his hard work had paid off,” said Dr. Edupuganti.
After starting his treatment, Bow even noticed an improvement with other health issues—and one of them made Deidra very thankful.
“I had sleep apnea, but after attending the Academy, I lost weight and felt so much better,” said Bow. “I’m no longer affected by sleep apnea and I don’t snore anymore.”
“It’s so rewarding for me as a physician when my patients have these kinds of outcomes. Impacting their health and also empowering them to take charge of their own healthy lifestyle makes what I do truly satisfying,” said Dr. Edupuganti.
To this day, Bow, Deidra and their children reap the benefits of living healthy lives.
Bow says he is thankful to the cardiology team at Wellstar for helping him make healthier choices for his overall wellness.
“Wellstar is the health system that gave me a second chance at life. A second chance to hold my wife and children. A second chance to fight,” Bow said. “I thought congestive heart failure was a death sentence, but it doesn’t have to be. With help from Dr. Edupuganti and his team, I get to lead a happier and healthier life.”
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Being proactive with his heart health proved lifesaving for Marion “Mario” Stokes—and paved the way for a minimally invasive artery replacement procedure that has given him renewed energy to do what he loves.
Catching a heart concern
Mario enjoyed a busy career as an attorney practicing commercial litigation. He also stayed active throughout his life, serving as a Navy Judge Advocate General Corps officer, becoming a certified scuba divemaster, and enjoying photography and studying history. When he noticed he was out of breath frequently—and his smart watch notified him of an irregular heartbeat—he discussed his symptoms with his primary care physician.
An electrocardiogram detected a leaky aortic valve, and after discussion with his care team at Wellstar Center for Cardiovascular Care, Mario decided to proceed with a transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR).
Advanced, minimally invasive surgery
Aortic stenosis occurs when the aortic valve narrows, preventing normal flow of blood from the left ventricle, also known as the pumping chamber of the heart, to the aorta and the rest of the body. Over time, this narrowing causes the heart’s left ventricle to pump harder to push blood through the stenotic aortic valve.
“TAVR is an amazing technology offering a minimally invasive alternative to open-heart surgery,” said Wellstar Cardiologist Dr. Nabil Sabbak, who performed Mario’s procedure at Wellstar Kennestone Regional Medical Center. “The valve is delivered through a small catheter via a tiny incision in the groin, eliminating the need to open the chest or stop the heart. This approach is lower-risk for many patients and allows for a quicker recovery with less pain.”
Most patients are walking within hours of the procedure and leave the hospital within 24 hours, according to Dr. Sabbak. Many people return to daily activities within a week.
“I’m very sensitive to pain, but nothing ever hurt,” Mario said about his procedure.
‘It’s like a new heart’
Mario said his valve replacement has given him more energy than he had before, allowing him to enjoy his retirement and time with family. The improvement is evident in his regular walks around his neighborhood and exercise at Wellstar Health Place.
“There's a steep hill that's near our house. Before the procedure, I couldn't walk up the hill without stopping at least once or twice to pause and get my breath,” he said. “Now I can just walk right up—no problem. It's made a huge difference in my life."
He stays busy with his fiancée and their three-year-old granddaughter—taking her on trips to the zoo, botanical gardens and nature center—as well as visiting his two children in Las Vegas and Philadelphia.
“It's like a new heart. It's unbelievable really,” Mario said. “I slept twice as much before. Sometimes I'd sleep 10 or 12 hours a night and then maybe take a nap. I was really out of energy.”
He is also building strength at cardiac rehabilitation three times a week at Wellstar Vinings Health Park, as well as continuing treatment with his Wellstar heart care team.
“I have been super pleased with Wellstar,” Mario said. “The folks there are very professional, and they have a wonderful combination of intelligence, education and caring, from the receptionists to the nurses, physician assistants and doctors.”
Learn more about heart care at Wellstar.
Mario Stokes
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De'saCare
De'sa Fuller, an assistant principal in West Georgia, greeted teachers in the hallway like every other morning. But her day turned upside down when she lost her balance and couldn’t rise from the floor. Thanks to the immediate actions of those around her—from the teacher who called 911 to emergency medical services and her Wellstar team—De’sa recovered and is back to school. Her story is a powerful testament to how recognizing symptoms of a stroke, calling for help right away and having highly coordinated care can lead to remarkable outcomes.
Getting help when things go wrong
At 34, De'sa Fuller was living a vibrant life. She was a 6th grade assistant principal at Gardner Middle School in LaGrange. She loved her job, enjoyed traveling and was saving up to buy her first home. April 15 started out like any other day. Smoothie in hand, she greeted teachers in the hallway as she made her way to her office.
“I felt a little off,” De'sa recalled. “I just thought I was going too fast—I didn’t put much thought into it.” Then she fell. A concerned teacher asked if she was okay. De'sa, thinking she had simply tripped, said “Yes.” Her vision blurred as she tried to get up and she fell again. “I said, ‘I am not okay.’”
What began as a typical morning turned into a race against time. One teacher's quick thinking to call 911 activated a rapid chain of events that would save De’sa from permanent disability.
The critical first minutes
“The ambulance got there quickly. It was like they were around the corner,” De'sa remembered.
“We got a call that EMS was bringing in a female who had been found on the floor at work, experiencing right-sided weakness,” explained Ginger Truitt, stroke coordinator at Wellstar West Georgia Medical Center, a Primary Stroke Center. The EMS professionals also reported confusion, headache and vomiting. “Those symptoms suggest stroke. We activated quickly.”
As a result, Dr. Reginald “Ashley” Orr, an emergency medicine physician, was ready for her arrival.
“I was worried about an acute stroke by their description of her symptoms,” he remembered. “I evaluated her on the stretcher when she came through the door.”
A Code FAST was called with the goal of speeding up the time to start treatment to improve De’sa’s chances for better outcomes. They skipped the emergency department and took her for a CT scan. Then she was seen by the onsite neurologist, and the team quickly administered tenectoplase—or TNK—a clot-busting drug.
“Her symptoms were markedly improved,” Dr. Orr noted. “She was more awake.”
However, the CT angiogram showed an MCA M1 occlusion—a blockage in a major blood vessel in the brain. While she had shown some improvement, it wasn’t enough. De'sa needed a thrombectomy, a procedure to remove the clot and restore vital blood flow to the brain.
A seamless transfer
De’sa needed an immediate transfer to a thrombectomy center, and there are only a few in the state of Georgia. After a quick virtual consult with Dr. Ovais Inamullah, a telestroke neurologist at Wellstar Kennestone Regional Medical Center—a Comprehensive Stroke Center—she was accepted for transfer. The Marietta-based Neuro Care program performs one of the highest volumes of thrombectomy and aneurysm treatments in the country.
Because time is of the essence with successful stroke treatment, transport by air is preferred. However, weather conditions threatened the flight’s safety. The ground EMS crew dutifully stood by in case they needed to drive De’sa.
Mercifully, the clouds lifted after a few tense moments and she began her trip to Wellstar Kennestone via helicopter.
“When we have this type of emergency, our goal is to get patients out the door for a thrombectomy in 90 minutes,” Ginger said. “In De’sa’s case, we did it in 102 minutes, which was still impressive because there was cloud cover and we weren’t sure at first if she would be able to fly.”
Upon arrival, De'sa was taken directly to the angio suite where Dr. Ahmad Khaldi, a Wellstar neurosurgeon, and his team were waiting. “Every minute counts,” he emphasized.
A thrombectomy is a procedure that treats a stroke without open brain surgery. A tiny catheter is threaded through a blood vessel in the arm or leg to the brain to remove a clot, restoring blood flow to help prevent permanent disability or even death.
“We finished surgery by 11:25 AM,” Dr. Khaldi said—just 20 minutes after the procedure began.
PeopleCare
RobertCare
Robert Frederick was living a typical life, going to work and spending time with his mother, siblings and children. But then it became hard to breathe when walking short distances or climbing stairs. He got dizzy. Perhaps most disturbingly, he passed out several times—once at a Braves baseball game he attended with his siblings.
"I didn't know what was going on!" Robert recalled.
Difficulty controlling AFib with medication
After passing out the first time, he went to urgent care and was then taken to the hospital by ambulance. He learned his symptoms were caused by atrial fibrillation (AFib), an irregular heartbeat.
Robert began to see Dr. David Caras, a Wellstar general cardiologist, and learned AFib is related to high blood pressure. Successfully managing high blood pressure often helps people keep AFib under control. Despite their efforts, AFib sent Robert to the emergency room two more times.
Suspicion of HCM
Dr. Caras reviewed Robert’s hospital records and found he had increased wall thickness of the left ventricle and a gradient—a pressure difference between the left ventricle and the aorta when the heart pumps. These findings were consistent with a condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). Characterized by abnormal thickening of the heart muscle, this disease makes it difficult for the heart to pump blood effectively.
Dr. Caras referred Robert to Dr. Melissa Burroughs, an HCM specialist at Wellstar. As a Center of Excellence designated by the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Association, Wellstar is one of the leading providers of comprehensive HCM care in Metro Atlanta.
"We have physicians in the group—designated HCM specialists—that are the point person of the patient’s care," Dr. Burroughs explained. “This includes close communication and collaboration with electrophysiologists, surgeons, advanced heart failure specialists, social workers and behavioral health professionals.”
A rare finding leads to Mayo Clinic Care Network collaboration
Robert said, “Dr. Burroughs wanted to do genetic testing to verify that I had HCM."
But genetic testing revealed a rare genetic variant—one not known to be associated with HCM. Dr. Burroughs called it a “diagnostic conundrum.” The genetic variant found was typically associated with a different cardiac disease that Robert did not have. However, he did have clear signs of HCM.
To investigate further, Dr. Burroughs collaborated with other HCM experts through the Mayo Clinic Care Network, of which Wellstar is a member. Mayo Clinic, which is also an HCM Center of Excellence, provided access to its unpublished database, finding Robert’s rare mutation was present in two other family groups with HCM.
“It’s very important that we add to the science—that we include our patients in the registry to enhance what is already known about HCM,” Dr. Burroughs said.
Robert added, “Dr. Burroughs is very persistent. She wanted to know, ‘Why are you having these problems? What’s the root cause?’ She went above and beyond to find that out.”