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Speedy Treatment Saves Marathon Runner from Heart Disease

At 63, Robert Hurd thought he was in great physical condition. The Daytona Beach resident had recently run his fifth marathon. His blood pressure had always been normal. And he is married to a dietitian who helps him eat a healthy diet.

So when Hurd was found in March to have clogged coronary arteries and was fast-tracked for bypass surgery, he was more than a little surprised.

“It was a shock to everyone,” he said. “My family has seen me running for years. I didn’t have any symptoms of coronary artery disease.”

Hurd’s interventional cardiologist, Vance Wilson, MD, said his patient’s story underscores two key facts about coronary artery disease, which can cause heart attack:

1. People with heart disease don’t always have symptoms — or symptoms they associate with the condition.
2. Even seemingly healthy people can face a higher heart disease risk because of factors they can’t control, such as heredity and age. “Having a parent or sibling with heart disease raises your risk of developing the condition,” Dr. Wilson explained.

Hurd’s father was on blood pressure medication and his brother was also treated for heart disease.

Aggressive Action Pays Off

The first signs of Hurd’s condition were spotted during his annual physical, when his blood pressure was slightly elevated. He was referred to Dr. Wilson, Chief of Cardiology at Halifax Health and a senior partner of Daytona Heart Group, who learned that Hurd had recently experienced a burning sensation in his upper chest and tightness in his jaw while running.

A series of tests indicated Hurd had five blockages in his arteries — three of them at more than 90 percent. Blood supply and oxygen to his heart were reduced, and Hurd was “a walking time bomb,” Dr. Wilson said.

Cardiothoracic surgeon Bradley Litke, MD, was immediately called in to perform bypass surgery at Halifax Health.

Knowing the Symptoms

Hurd said his doctors’ good judgment and the expert care he received at Halifax Health saved his life. Dr. Wilson said more lives could be saved if people understood the symptoms of heart attack and heart disease.

“You might not have pain,” Dr. Wilson said, “but rather a vague discomfort, tightness or pressure, or a feeling of squeezing or burning in your chest. This may last a few minutes or go away and come back. If you have these symptoms, get help immediately.”