How cardiac rehab helped an Arizona man after widowmaker heart attack
Jeff Goss had never heard of cardiac rehab until he had a heart attack last September.
GOODYEAR, Ariz. (AZFamily) — For three months, Jeff Goss spent his Mondays and Wednesdays in the cardiac rehab center at Abrazo West.
“I had never heard of it. Not until after the heart attack,” he recently told Arizona’s Family.
You may remember a video Arizona’s Family first showed you last month: Goss, who lives in Litchfield Park, having a widowmaker heart attack.
Thankfully, Goss is healthy now. His wife, Michelle, put the videos on social media to raise awareness about the symptoms you should watch out for. Her three TikToks have nearly 10 million views so far, and the couple has received messages from all over the country thanking them for saving lives.
What happens after you have a heart attack? Arizona’s Family checked out the exercise program for heart attack survivors like Jeff.
“We educate the heart anatomy, their disease, the procedure they had,” said exercise physiologist Christine Spiel.
In each session, patients like Jeff are hooked up to machines and his vitals are closely monitored, including his blood pressure, oxygen levels and more. Exercise physiologists are also assessing patients’ mental health.
“Almost 100% of the time they come in, they are scared,” said Jade Gomez, an exercise physiologist. “This is a foreign language to them. They have never had a heart attack. They have never had these sorts of things happen to them.”
After Jeff’s widowmaker heart attack and surgery, the big question was, what could he do physically? Cardiac rehab is where he learned his limits and how to exercise safely.
“I didn’t know any of that,” Jeff said. “I just thought you had a heart attack and then you just go back to your life.”
Before rehab, Jeff said his heart was working at 35%. But after that, it was 45%.
Throughout recovery, Michelle also posted videos and thanks on social media for all of the folks in the cardiac rehab room. The specialists also develop close bonds with their patients.
“Our Mondays and Wednesdays aren’t the same without them,” Gomez said.
Dr. Rich Pham is the director of cardiology and cardiac rehab at Abrazo West and Jeff’s doctor. He likes to focus on preventative care, including diet, exercise and modifying risk factors that you can control, like your weight.
Here is more information on heart attack prevention from the American Heart Association.
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