Surviving ‘the widowmaker’: Former mayor says there’s no place better than CRH for cardiac care – The Republic

If you are ever diagnosed with the widowmaker, former Columbus Mayor Fred Armstrong says theres no better place to get treatment than Columbus Regional Hospital through the cardiac care and surgery team there.

The Columbus community came perilously close to losing the popular four-term Democratic mayor this past fall, when Armstrong, known for his wisecracking sense of humor and penchant for calling everyone kiddo, went for a routine physical, and needed to be fast-tracked to open-heart surgery quickly.

Just a few days past Thanksgiving last year, CRH cardiac surgeon Dr. Gregory Dedinsky opened Armstrongs chest at the local hospital and took a vein from his leg to bypass what is known as the widowmaker artery in his heart, and made two other artery repairs while he was at it, Armstrong said.

A widowmaker heart attack is a type of heart attack caused by a total blockage of the left anterior descending (LAD) artery. The LAD artery carries fresh blood into the heart so that the heart gets the oxygen it needs to pump properly. If its blocked, the heart can stop very fast which is why this type of heart attack is called a widowmaker.

Fred Armstrong, former mayor of Columbus, arrives for the State of the City address at the FairOaks Mall in Columbus, Ind., Tuesday, March 3, 2020. Mike Wolanin | The Republic

Former Columbus Mayor Fred Armstrong is shown at Columbus Regional Hospital after undergoing open heart surgery last fall. Submitted photo

Dr. Greg Dedinsky

Former Columbus Mayor Fred Armstrong is shown with his beagle Petey at their home. Submitted photo

Im going to answer all your questions before you ask them, Armstrong recalled Dedinsky saying to him before the surgery at CRH.

Youre 72 and you think youre supposed to have pain, Dedinsky said to Armstrong, who nodded in agreement. And youve lost a little energy and youre thinking, Im 72 and Im supposed to feel that way. Well, youre wrong.

Dedinsky told Armstrong that he had a heart problem, as Armstrong would later learn, it was actually a big heart problem.

Im going to fix it, Dedinsky told Armstrong, and youll feel like youre 18 again.

Dont tell my wife, Armstrong joked in response.

One simple question

Armstrongs journey to open heart surgery in Columbus began the Friday before Thanksgiving when, as a Vietnam veteran, he had scheduled his annual physical at the Wakeman VA Clinic in Edinburgh.

A physicians assistant was going through the routine questions, and asked Armstrong, Has anything changed in your life since we last saw you?

Armstrong said he still doesnt know why he responded the way he did, but he told the assistant, Well, sometimes, when I take my dog (Petey, a beagle) for a walk, hell jerk on the leash and Ill have a little chest pain.

The physicians assistant set him up for a stress test immediately at the Roudebush VA facility in Indianapolis, which Armstrong said he flunked quite spectacularly.

After flunking the test, medical officials there ordered him to lay down, told him he had a heart blockage and said they planned to do a heart catheterization immediately. While he was being prepped, family members including his wife Kathi were called and sped to Indianapolis.

Armstrong was awake for the catheterization and was told the artery was blocked, it was the widowmaker, and he would need open heart surgery soon.

The VA doctors pronounced it would be done at St. Vincents in Indianapolis, but Armstrong, never known for not speaking up, asked to make a phone call.

He called one of his doctors in Columbus to ask where he should have the surgery and was told that several of the best cardiac surgeons, not just in Indiana but in the nation, were at Columbus Regional Hospital.

So I told them I wanted to go home for the surgery, Armstrong said. And after a few phone calls, and arranging for an ambulance to transport him to Columbus, it was decided.

It would take a little time to complete the arrangements and Armstrong remembers a few humorous moments while parked in the VA waiting area, where a compassionate VA nurse gave him a completely unhealthy meal to eat while waiting for the ambulance.

When Kathi questioned that choice, the nurse said, He was hungry and Im in charge.

And when Kathi brought a set of pajamas from home for Armstrong to wear, the nurse also vetoed that, and when asked why, he said. Because if he codes, I have to cut them off. It would be regulation hospital PJs for Armstrong instead.

When the ambulance crew arrived and tried to put a C-Pap machine Armstrong uses to sleep between his legs on the transport gurney, the VA nurse again intervened and said, Take that from between his legs, if he codes you are going to need all the room you can get.

And I thought, this is the second time hes mentioned code, Armstrong said. And he looked at me then, and said, dont worry about it. He was fantastic.

Getting to CRH

When Armstrong arrived in Columbus, it was in the middle of the night and he was met by a young nurse named Brittany, who told him she would get him arranged on the monitors and then call the doctor and have him come in.

You know, hes not coming in now, Armstrong recalls saying to her.

The next morning, Brittany chided him for not telling her he did have a little chest pain at one point during the night.

And you didnt call me?, she asked, reminding him that she was there to keep an eye on him.

That Saturday morning, Dedinsky arrived and told Armstrong he would fix the heart issue, with the surgery scheduled for the following Tuesday. Dedinsky told him he had done more than 4,000 of the procedures and that it would take about four hours in surgery.

From that point until the surgery, Brittany kept a close eye on Armstrong, and checked on him frequently.

Armstrong now thinks of her as an angel, as she would stop by just when he might need something, or sometimes even before he needed anything. He continues to joke, well, Im pretty sure she was real, but she could have been an angel.

Sometimes Brittany just stood in the doorway to check on him, with Armstrong hearing from her, I just wanted to see how you are doing, which Armstrong found comforting as he awaited surgery.

Heart surgery

Armstrong admits he was not in a good mood coming out of surgery, unable to tell the medical professionals that it wasnt the chest incision that was causing him issues, but his back ached from laying flat for four hours on the surgical table. Some pain medication quickly took care of that and he was soon back to his usual self.

The only pain meds I had after that were Tylenol, he said. The nurses were fantastic, and the doctors Im telling you I had the surgery on Tuesday and they had me up and walking the next day.

He was home by the next Saturday. Not one thing went wrong, he said.

When asked if he thought anyone at his hometown hospital knew that he was a four-term Columbus mayor, Armstrong joked that it was probably good that no one had brought it up.

Columbus Regional Hospital President and CEO Jim Bickel did not stop in to visit and check on him while Armstrong was recovering in the hospital.

Armstrong said he was impressed with everything during his hospital stay, including the cleanliness of the rooms and the hard work of the housekeeping staff, the dietary department and the food, the nursing staff everything and everyone.

I really want everyone to know what great physicians and a great nursing staff we have here, Armstrong said. I hope nobody else has to have something like this done, but if you do, staying here you are in good hands.

Missing the signs

Armstrong is going through the cardiac rehab program at CRH and will eventually go back for more VA checkups too.

He has noticed that in rehab, there are a lot more women who are experiencing heart problems and he urged women to pay attention to any symptoms that might indicate a heart problem.

And he now sees some signs that he thinks pointed to his own heart problem, crediting some of it to Petey the beagle, whose leash pulling led to the off-hand comment, that led to open heart surgery.

You know, Petey saved my life, Armstrong said, with a slight grin. Well Petey and Dr. Dedinsky.

Armstrong now remembers that Petey, who has never, ever, been a lap dog in any sense, had started jumping up on Armstrongs lap about two weeks before the heart blockage was found.

I told Kathi, Petey just jumped on my lap, and she said, that is so weird, Armstrong recalled. I do think dogs have this instinct and they know when something is going on.

Petey was jumping on Armstrongs lap every night for two weeks before he went to the VA clinic for the checkup, he said, perhaps trying to tell him something that there was no way to communicate. And since something catastrophic could have occurred on one of those walks, Petey was trying to communicate in the only way he could, Armstrong believes.

He describes his wife Kathi as the best nurse and caretaker that anyone could have, and the couple is working to eat healthier and keeping a watchful eye on healthy behaviors.

She told me, It took me 50 years to plug him up and four hours for the doctor to clean him out, Armstrong said.

But on a serious note, Armstrong said he is deeply grateful to the cardiac care team at CRH for saving his life.

Just what they did for me, he said. It was amazing.

To learn more

For more information about Columbus Regional Hospitals cardiac care programs, visit crh.org/.

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Surviving 'the widowmaker': Former mayor says there's no place better than CRH for cardiac care - The Republic