8 Bringing health care news to your home For most of her life, Lee Augustin was the epitome of health. Outside of childbirth, she cannot remember ever needing to go to the hospital, which was why she was reluctant to call for help last summer when she wasn’t feeling well. Augustin had run some errands earlier on a hot day in July, and when she came home, she wasn’t feeling quite right. Then, she had a tremor in her right arm. After about an hour of rest and no improvement, she decided she’d better call 911. Subtle symptoms “The ambulance came to my house very fast, and they took me to the ER immediately,” said Augustin. “I was confused because I didn’t have any pain. There were no sharp stabs, horrible throbs or weight on my chest. I thought having a heart attack would be more dramatic.” Even though she didn’t have obvious symptoms, Augustin did experience a heart attack, or blockage in an artery that sends blood and oxygen to the heart. One of her doctors would later tell her it was massive — so serious, in fact, that she may not have survived without immediate care from Columbus Community Hospital. That care includes the brand-new cardiac catheterization lab, which puts time on a patient’s side. Augustin’s arrival at the emergency room set a chain of events into motion. Her caregivers paged the STelevation myocardial infarction (STEMI, another word for the type of heart attack Augustin experienced) on-call team, which responded immediately and brought Augustin into the cath lab. There, cardiologist Dr. Sabu George inserted an intravenous (IV) needle into an artery in her wrist and used it to thread a catheter, or tiny tube, into her heart. He and his team injected dye through the catheter and used X-ray imaging to determine where the blockage was. Once they found the blockage, they inserted a wire through the catheter, opened the blockage up with a balloon and then inserted a mesh stent to keep the artery open. “Once the artery is opened, we basically stop the process of that type of heart attack,” said Dr. George. After Dr. George and his team finished placing the stent, they removed the balloon and catheter and transferred Augustin to the intensive care unit, where she recovered under the watchful eyes of specially trained nurses. Praise for caring staff “I am truly thankful to be sitting here and amazed that all those medical experts are right here in Columbus, so we don’t have to go to Lincoln or Omaha to be saved,” said Augustin. “I will forever be indebted to the staff and everyone who helped me.” Augustin said it’s not just the lifesaving measures she was thankful for — it was also how genuine and caring every staff member she met was. “When I got to the ER, all these people were running around so busy,” said Augustin. “Then I heard a voice. One of my former students recognized me and told me she loved me and was there for me. I didn’t need any more. I knew I was in the right place.” Lifesaving heart attack care Woman shares her unusual symptoms and how CCH saved her life
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