On Friday Leonard Joppa played 27 holes of golf – felt great. On Saturday he climbed the stairs to the top rows of the Fargodome to watch the Bison homecoming game – no problem. But on Saturday evening, while watching football on TV with family, the unexpected happened.
While nobody was looking, Leonard silently slumped to the side of his recliner, unconscious. His family figured he was napping – except for son Bill, a pharmacist who works with heart patients at Mayo in Rochester.
"Get dad on the floor, call 911," he commanded. While one family member called 911 another performed CPR. In a minute and a half, police arrived to the north Fargo home. With a defibrillator, they jumpstarted Leonard's heart. The fire department arrived, then the ambulance.
"There was plenty of activity around here, but I wasn't aware of any of it," says 78-year-old Leonard, a retired agricultural geneticist with a laid-back style.
An expert team ready to go
F-M Ambulance rushed Leonard to MeritCare's Emergency Center, where an experienced heart team awaited his arrival. Leonard was about to receive care in a hospital that for the ninth time in 10 years was named one of the nation's 100 top heart hospitals. MeritCare had the exact combination Leonard needed: a rapid response, readily available specialists and advanced technology.
Shortly after he arrived, Leonard underwent cardiac catheterization – a procedure that visualizes all the coronary arteries, revealing critical blockages. Leonard's wife Catherine remembers when the family learned the results. "They took us back to look at the X-rays and we could see this was serious," she says. The extent of the blockage was too much for a stenting – a less-invasive procedure often performed during cardiac catheterization. Leonard would need heart bypass surgery.
In the hours leading up surgery, Leonard was closely monitored and medicated to keep him comfortable. Catherine didn't know if he could hear her, but she spoke to him anyway. "You'd better be here for our 50th anniversary," she recalls telling him. "All along, I had a gut feeling everything would be okay."
Stunning news
Early Sunday morning Dr. Roxanne Newman, MeritCare cardiovascular surgeon, performed successful quadruple bypass surgery. By 10 a.m., Leonard was in recovery, where he finally learned he'd had a heart attack.
"I was stunned," he says. "I never expected a heart attack." He had low cholesterol, went in for yearly checkups, played golf nearly every day in summer and worked out at the Y in the winter. He hadn't smoked in 30 years and maintained a healthy weight.
But in thinking back to summer days on the golf course, he does recall the occasional slight twinge in his chest while walking up a hill. "It just never occurred to me it was heart trouble," he says.
Leonard spent a week at MeritCare Hospital. He and Catherine took walks up and down the hall and attended classes on heart health. "One of the things I appreciated was how nice everybody was," he says. "Just being treated nicely makes you feel a little better." Education and exercise continued in MeritCare's outpatient cardiac rehab program.
Getting back to normal
Today, six weeks after surgery, Leonard relaxes at home, reading the Journal of Science while Catherine sews in the next room. He feels "pretty much back to normal" – and thankful.
"I feel extremely lucky that I was with my family that night and that Bill knew I was having a heart attack. That saved my life," says Leonard. "We're lucky to live in an area with excellent medical care, from the emergency responders to the ambulance crew to the heart team at MeritCare. It all worked the way it was supposed to work and I'm very fortunate to be here."
Don't ignore signs
Leonard has one simple message: "If you have even the faintest twinge, see a doctor and don't ignore it," he says. "It could be your first clue you have heart trouble."
And that 50th wedding anniversary? It comes up June 7, following a cozy winter of reading books and watching granddaughters play hockey.