Coralville mayor recovering from heart attack

CORALVILLE - Longtime Coralville Mayor Jim Fausett had a heart attack Wednesday afternoon but expects to make a full recovery.

Fausett was at Mercy Iowa City Thursday and is scheduled to have a procedure Friday morning to have a stent put in an artery that was discovered to be 80 percent blocked.

Fausett, who turns 78 next month, said he plans to be home on Sunday and will have some restrictions and be on medication and a special diet for a while.

“But all in all, I should be back good as new - like a new old man,” he said with a laugh in a telephone interview from the hospital.

Fausett is running unopposed in Tuesday's election. He has served as Coralville's mayor since 1996 and before that was a member of the City Council for 18 years.

He said he plans to serve another two-year term if elected.

Fausett said he and his wife were returning from the grocery store about 3:45 p.m. Wednesday when the heart attack hit. He drove a half block to his house, parked his car, and his wife called 911, he said.

“It came on quickly; however, it has been building up toward this for quite some time,” he said.

Fausett and his wife, Carol, have lived in Coralville for 50 years. He is a Korean War veteran and a retired administrator at the University of Iowa College of Dentistry.