Key points from today’s guests:
Sam Platt, quintuple bypass patient
- As a drummer, life in a band took its toll with frequent fast food stops and living an unhealthy lifestyle.
- One night in 2022 after a gig, a stomachache turned into a hospital visit.
- Doctors said he needed a quintuple bypass surgery and he was rushed to The University of Kansas Health System.
- Sam had blockages in five arteries supplying blood to his heart.
- They took arteries and veins from his arm to help with the bypass, but it has not impeded his ability to play the drums.
- He has changed his lifestyle to be more healthy – including eliminating fast food and pop – and people have noticed the differences.
- He feels so much better and is able to continue playing his music.
- He recommends people to get their heart checked and be conscious of how they are treating their body.
Dr. Tyler Zorn, thoracic surgeon, The University of Kansas Health System
- He was treated for a celiac dissection as well as a quintuple bypass.
- Bypass surgery is re-routing blood flow around blockages in the arteries.
- We do as much as we can to restore blood flow to the heart so it can last as long as it can.
- Chest pain, shoulder pain and jaw pain are the more common symptoms of heart issues. General fatigue is another sign that can be missed.
- These blockages happen over time – years or decades – and they get to the point where they're affecting you in a more chronic way.
- Suggested scans may be a calcium score or a stress test to help detect issues early.
- Sam is the ideal patient, understanding he needed to make changes and is doing so.
