Elevate Your Health Colorado: Your Health Information Resource

On four grueling occasions, 60-year-old Kaiser Permanente member Chris Aragon gloried in the spectacular mountain scenery of Ride the Rockies , an annual bike tour through Colorado.

Make that three occasions—the fourth was grueling for other reasons.

In June 2009, during the middle of the multi-day event, Aragon saw the sights from a medical helicopter after suffering a heart attack. “The view was awesome, but that’s a hard way to get a scenic tour,” he says.

Looking back, Aragon credits his Kaiser Permanente Colorado cardiologist, Christopher Lang, MD, not only for treating his heart attack aggressively, but also for helping him take his future risk seriously.

Symptoms came on gradually
Aragon, a retired firefighter and serious athlete, completed the first 70-mile leg of the bike tour with more fatigue than usual.

By day two, he parked his car ahead of the starting point—just in case—and while cycling to meet his riding partner, he felt acid reflux and severe pain in his chest. “The symptoms went away, so I rode on, never thinking it was my heart,” he says.

By day three, tremendous chest pain and profuse sweating alerted Aragon that something was seriously wrong. His riding companion drove him to Salida, where emergency room doctors quickly contacted St. Joseph Hospital in Denver. “Chris had an abnormal EKG and was threatening to have a major heart attack,” Dr. Lang says. “We managed that scenario aggressively and immediately.”

Procedures avert tragedy
Aragon was airlifted to St. Joseph Hospital, where Dr. Lang discovered a severe obstruction in one of the arteries supplying blood to the heart. He performed a balloon angioplasty and inserted a stent to restore normal blood flow. “We nipped it in the bud,” Dr. Lang says. “He was clearly headed toward a much more substantial and permanent amount of damage.”

Aragon realizes his minor heart attack could have been more severe. “Everyone worked together so quickly,” he recalls. “Dr. Lang told me what was happening every step of the way. He also sat with my family after surgery and reassured them that I was OK. He even talked to them about their diets.”

Since then, Aragon has had time to reflect on this truth: “You can’t judge a book by its cover,” he says. “I never smoked. I ate a mostly healthy diet with lots of fruits and vegetables. I also worked out vigorously and regularly.” However, he had an unseen risk factor he never took seriously—family history. His dad died following a heart attack at age 75, and two of his siblings have a history of heart problems.

The moral?
Even the healthiest individuals should be vigilant about knowing their risk factors and talking to their doctor about them. “You can be reasonably fit, physically active, and not have a lot of symptoms, but the nature of heart disease is something we all have to consider as we get older,” Dr. Lang says, stressing that knowing your family history of heart disease is very important.

Aragon’s active lifestyle and newfound commitment to reduce food portions and keep his cholesterol low will set him up for future success. “We have strong science to suggest these healthy habits help prevent a recurrence,” Dr. Lang says.

Aragon is convinced that being physically fit has helped his recovery. He’s already back on his bike. And a commitment to “follow doctor’s orders” has him on the right track. “I’ve never been one to listen, but for the first time in my life I’m doing as I’m told,” Aragon says. “I also plan to enjoy life and be grateful for what I have.”

How to reduce your risks
When it comes to heart attacks, there are some risk factors you can’t change, such as age and family history. That’s why it’s crucial to control the risks you can:

• Eat a diet low in saturated and trans fats, and rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
• Stay active and don’t smoke.
• Check your cholesterol. If you can’t remember the last time you had your cholesterol checked, it’s time to schedule an appointment.
• Know your blood pressure and cholesterol numbers; set goals for both and take medications if prescribed.
• Manage your diabetes if you have it.
• Discuss your risk for heart attack and how to lower your risk with your doctor.
• Calculate your 10-year heart attack risk at KaiserPermanente.org/calculators.

For more information on reducing your risks for heart disease, visit KaiserPermanente.org.

Dr. Lang received his medical degree from Case Western Reserve University. He performed fellowships at the University of Colorado and at the University of Pennsylvania.