She Thought She Was Just Tired
A free health screening uncovered a silent heart attack and put Catherine Sprague on the road to recovery.
Catherine Sprague was just a little tired.
For the most part, she felt fine. Every now and then she noticed she was short of breath, but nothing seemed serious enough to cause alarm. Still, something nagged at her. Something just didn’t feel right.
That’s what prompted her to attend the annual February Heart Health Screening at Elizabethtown Community Hospital, part of University of Vermont Health.
The free event included cholesterol and A1C testing, blood pressure checks — most importantly for Sprague — a heart EKG. What doctors discovered during that screening probably saved her life.
When a routine heart screening revealed something serious
The EKG revealed that Sprague had suffered a ‘silent’ heart attack weeks, or perhaps even months, earlier. Further testing revealed congestive heart failure.
Her heart was dying and needed immediate intervention to save it.
Sprague was shocked.
“If we just go by how we actually feel, it just might be too late,” says Jun Chon, MD, chief medical officer at Elizabethtown Community Hospital, who analyzed her EKG and first identified the problem.
According to Dr. Chon, potentially serious, or even life-threatening conditions often don’t feel particularly severe, especially when symptoms develop gradually over a long period of time.
In Sprague’s case, immediate cardiac rehabilitation was critical.
Cardiac rehabilitation helps build strength and confidence
“At first, it was really nerve-wracking for her,” says Elizabeth Wendel, a clinical exercise physiologist at Elizabethtown Community Hospital's new 5,700 square foot rehabilitation facility.
Wendel remembers how shaken Sprague was by the diagnosis. Building confidence took time, but the more rehabilitation exercise sessions she went to, the better she felt. Before long, she began looking forward to going to the rehab gym.
Today, Sprague arrives with a wide smile. Many of the other patients there know her by name, and her energy helps turn the space into something closer to a celebration than a medical appointment.
“Her independence has grown to the point where she’s getting on exercise machines independently and encourages other patients to push themselves,” Wendel says.
Looking back, Sprague believes everyone should take advantage of health screenings, especially people like her, who haven’t seen a doctor or had a checkup in a few years.
“I probably wouldn’t be here today if I didn’t go to that screening,” she says.
To learn more about ECH health screenings and more, visit uvmhealth.org/echresources
