Preventing a Heart Attack

At 67 years old, Ron Hein felt he was in good shape. He was active; he walked two miles to and from work every day. He also ate a healthy diet, never smoked and didn’t drink alcohol.

While his blood pressure and lab results looked good, his A1C had periodically been in the prediabetes range, but it wasn’t something that Ron was overly concerned about. He hadn’t experienced any chest pain or shortness of breath, and termed himself “symptom free” from any heart concerns.

Ron and his wife Lugine have both been nurses at Boone Health since the late 70’s, both working in the cardiology field. Ron spent 20 years on cardiology working with bypass patients, and Lugine has spent most of her career at Cardiac Rehab.

“Not because of any reason that we felt we needed it,” Ron said, “but because we are in our mid-60s and it’s an available screening.”

The calcium score is the total amount of calcium buildup detected in the coronary arteries. The higher the score, the more plaque buildup is present.

Lugine got her results, and her number was in the normal range of less than 100, meaning she had a very low likelihood of coronary artery disease. Ron’s results were 1,600. A score this high indicates significant plaque buildup and a high risk of heart disease or a cardiac event.

“I was shocked with this high number because I didn’t have any symptoms,” Ron said. “I wasn’t experiencing any shortness of breath or chest pain, and I was honestly surprised I had that much calcium buildup.”

Ron made an appointment with a cardiologist to talk about next steps, and a cardiac catheterization was scheduled in June.

A cardiac catheterization is used for diagnostics or treatment. For this procedure, a catheter was put in Ron’s wrist, and dye was used to look at his coronary arteries.

The catheterization showed that Ron had an 80-90% blockage in the left anterior descending (LAD) artery and he also had a 70% blockage off the first diagonal branch off the LAD. A stent wasn’t placed because if one artery was stented, it would have blocked the other, so bypass surgery was scheduled in July 2025. Ron had a double vessel bypass, and the surgery was not easy.

“It was a lot harder than what I anticipated it would be,” Ron said. “It just wiped me out. After taking care of patients on the cardiology floor throughout my nursing career, it was a lot harder than I ever gave anybody credit for.”

But Ron made it through with the help of his wife.

“When I got home, Lugine helped me a lot,” he said. “She allowed me to rest when I needed to rest and even though it was the middle of July when we got home, she still helped me get out and walk. With her support, I was able to take slow, steady steps: first to the sidewalk, then to the first block, until I was able to make it around the neighborhood.”

In August 2025, Ron started intensive cardiac rehab at Boone Health where he wore a wireless heart monitor while he exercised. This helped build his confidence knowing he could push himself when exercising.

Six months later, Ron was back to long walks and playing pickleball. “I like to think I’m back to 100%,” Ron said. “I didn’t have limitations before surgery, and I don’t now.”

“This story shows the importance of not waiting,” Lugine said. “It’s an available screening, and as Community Wellness nurses, we encourage preventative care. We inform people about their numbers to help them live a healthy lifestyle.”

One trip they had to postpone weighs heavy on Ron’s heart. They were supposed to go to Alaska in July 2025 on a mission trip. They would have been in a small village, far away from any kind of medical care.

The trip wasn’t the reason they chose to get screened when they did, but the results are the reason the screening is so important.

“If I would have had some type of event while we were there,” Ron said, “what kind of effect would that have had on the people we were traveling with, or the village where we were going to go serve?”

Since his diagnosis, Ron and Lugine have been sharing his story with others, which has encouraged them to get screened. Their results have all come back better than Ron’s, but as Ron says, “It’s good that they know.”

Ron feels positive about how things worked out. Knowing that diabetes plays a role in cardiovascular disease, Ron was exercising and eating a healthy diet.

“I ended up with heart disease and needed to have bypass surgery in order to protect me from having a heart attack. It’s worked out, and that’s pretty amazing,” Ron said. “I hadn’t had an event, and I still haven’t had any kind of heart attack. We’ve been able to preserve heart muscle and I haven’t had any heart damage which is what we really wanted to prevent.”

Ron is grateful for the speed and skill of the Boone Health team.

“From the middle of May to the middle of July, I went from a calcium screening to the catheterization lab, to surgery, and then home. It all happened so quickly,” Ron said. “The calcium scan was quick; the catheterization team was awesome and the surgical team was amazing.”

Ron’s surgeon told him the bypass would give him another 20 years.

Ron and Lugine’s message to others is simple: Don’t wait. Screening matters. His own story has already inspired others to take that step, and maybe their story will encourage you to do the same.

By Erin Wegner

To schedule your cardiac calcium screening, visit your patient portal or call 573-815-8150.