Heart attack survivor shares story
Danny Rivers recently survived a surprise heart attack. Now, he is working to change his lifestyle by picking his running hobby back up and making dietary changes that will help him stay healthy. (Contributed)
On the afternoon of April 28, 2021, Danny Rivers, an El Dorado local, was doing a quick cleanup of his flower beds at home. However, Rivers’ short yard work plan was derailed as he began to feel something wasn’t quite right. Having recently turned 60, Rivers had seeing a cardiologist on his to-do list; however, between being a husband, father, grandfather, financial advisor and a Bible teacher, he hadn’t yet found the time. Besides that, he thought he was at low risk for a heart attack; he’d gotten regular primary care checkups, always had good blood work results and hadn’t noticed any significant warning signs.
He did, though, have a family history of heart disease.
According to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, someone has a heart attack every 40 seconds; more than 800,000 Americans have a heart attack each year on average.
After about ten minutes of work in the flower bed that spring afternoon, Rivers began to feel very over-heated and noticed he was sweating more than usual. He sat on the porch with a cold drink to cool off, and said that’s when he first started to feel that something was wrong. After taking a cold shower, he began to feel a tightness in his chest, along with shortness of breath and numbness in both of his arms.
The uncomfortable feeling turned into excruciating pain in a matter of minutes. Rivers described the feeling as “having Hulk the comic character squeeze, rip and smash me all at once. I knew I was having symptoms of a heart attack.”
Rivers said he then made three calls. The first was made to 911 to report his medical situation. The second call was to his wife, Patti Rivers, who is a Nurse Practitioner at SAMA Healthcare Services. The final call was to his Pastor, Chester Passmore.
As a seasoned medical professional, Patti instructed Rivers to take some aspirin and headed to the house as quickly as she could. She ended up beating the ambulance home and quickly rushed Rivers to the nearest emergency room at the Medical Center of South Arkansas.
During their drive to MCSA, Rivers said everything started to feel foggy. Upon his arrival to MCSA, he was ushered into the ER for evaluation.
Rivers stated, “We are so fortunate to have a hospital with 24/7 interventional cardiology coverage, cath labs and heart care experts. Because we live in a rural area, it says a lot about our local hospital and their commitment to care for our community.”
Doctors quickly determined that Rivers had a 100% blockage of his right coronary artery. Before Rivers knew it, he was brought into the MCSA cath lab, where they performed a percutaneous coronary intervention, placing three stents to unblock the clogged artery.
After intervention in the cath lab, Rivers found himself in the care of the MCSA Intensive Care Unit team, soon graduating to the third-floor step down unit where he began his path to recovery.
Rivers stated, “I am so grateful to be alive and for the care that the MCSA team gave me. Everyone from the ER to the cath lab, ICU and step down unit were extremely professional, knowledgeable, compassionate and you could tell they cared for me as a person. It felt good to know that so many people honestly cared for me and about me.”
Rivers said he was still amazed that he was wheeled in the ER on a Wednesday afternoon and that he was discharged on a Friday afternoon. He said that he attributes this to a combination of the grace and mercy of God as well as advances in medical technology and the care he received.
During his two week follow up with his interventional cardiologist, who he called his new best friend, Rivers was cleared to resume normal activities and to begin his post-heart attack recovery. With the help of his wife, he began making changes to his diet, including cutting out fried foods, reducing his salt intake, limiting red meat to once a month and substituting starchy foods for vegetables.
As a former high school and collegiate distance runner, Rivers also picked back up on his love for running. Prior to his heart attack, it had been a few years since Rivers had taken running seriously. He said he was excited to get back into running, but knew it would be a slow process. Eventually, walking turned into intermediate jogging and then jogging turned into running. “I am now running two miles every day, which is not bad for someone who is 60 years old and had a heart attack less than two months ago,” joked Rivers. Rivers plans for his new diet and exercise routine to be a lifestyle change and part of daily life from here on out.
So far he has lost twenty pounds, with a goal of thirty pounds total weight loss. Rivers said, “I have all of the motivation in the world to stay healthy. I never want to feel like I did the day of my heart attack again.” Rivers said he wanted to share his story for two reasons.
“First, I wanted to personally thank all of the medical professionals at Medical Center of South Arkansas for their commitment to care not only for me but for our whole community. Second, I hoped that my story would inspire others to make heart healthy choices and recognize the signs of a heart attack. Listen to your body and act quickly; it may just save your life,” he said.