Ken thought he should check his heart. Ken was 70 years of age. His father had died of a heart attack in his 60s. He did the research. And found that he could pay for a special heart test called a CT cardiac angiogram. He purchased the test for about $2,000. It is not a provincial health benefit.
This imaging study uses a contrast agent to visualize the heart’s vascular supply. All the coronary arteries are outlined in this study. We are only as healthy as the flow in these small pipes.
Ken had his CT cardiac angiogram. It showed that his central pipe, the Left Anterior Descending Artery (LAD), was about 90% blocked. He was stunned and alarmed. He called RCM Health for advice and a medical second opinion. RCM Health had worked for his company before with another manager who required an urgent surgical procedure.
At the same time, Ken had an academic cardiologist at a teaching hospital. He went to this renowned cardiologist. The cardiologist decided to ignore the results of the CT cardiac angio. He ordered a stress test. The stress test results were normal. The academic cardiologist told Ken that he was healthy and he should carry on.
RCM Health took a different approach. We sent Ken to an excellent interventional cardiologist. We knew the CT cardiac angio was communicating to us about the danger that existed. The interventional cardiologist booked a cardiac angiography study. At the time of this study, the LAD was about 95% blocked. The cardiologist approached the blockage with a stent through the right wrist artery. The blockage was dilated. A stent was placed to keep the LAD open. And Ken went off to the recovery room.
The first call that Ken made in the recovery room was to his team at RCM Health to thank them for saving his life.
What is the meaning in this case study? Our intuition speaks to us all the time. We have to learn to listen to the subtle messages. That is what happened with Ken, and that listening saved his life.
