Cedar Rapids woman had few signs of heart blockage

Pauline Hoth felt that she was doing everything right. At 72, Hoth, of Cedar Rapids, thought she was doing everything she needed to do to live a heart-healthy lifestyle.

“I was almost like the poster child for not having that kind of thing happen,” Hoth says. “I'm not overweight, I don't smoke, I do all my own yardwork,” she says.

Even so, Hoth's doctor did detect an irregular heartbeat at her regular check up last April.  Her doctor had her come back several weeks later and the irregularity was still there, so she was referred to a cardiologist, Dr. Roy Venzon, of Cardiologists, L.C. in Cedar Rapids.

“By that time, I had swollen ankles and swollen feet,” Hoth says. Still in denial that she could be having a heart problem, Hoth says, “That was kind of a tip-off, but then again, the weather was getting hot. And sometimes everybody's feet get a little puffy, so I didn't put that together with it.”

Hoth was shocked when she was told that she had an artery that was 90 percent blocked. “That's a hard thing to hear.”  She had a stent put in just a few days later.

“A month later I was back to doing all my own yardwork and mowing the lawn and all that stuff,” she says.

With no outward symptoms, Hoth feels very thankful that everything turned out as well as it did. Perhaps, that is a lesson for us all, that not every heart problem comes banging on your door, sometimes you may only have a slight hint that's something wrong.

Hoth says, “People kept saying, ‘Did you feel out of breath?' ‘Did you feel like you were tired or it was hard for you to breathe?' The answer was, ‘No.' I had nothing to tell me, ‘You better check on this.'”

Hoping that others can learn from her experience, Hoth says, “Everybody's different and everybody may have different signs or none at all. I guess the bottom line is the only person who can take of you is you.”

Hoth realizes she needs to be extra vigilant now, in case she should develop further heart trouble.  She regularly attends cardiac rehab and takes note of any change in the way she feels.

“I think my kids and grandkids are tired of hearing it. Everybody's got one heart, and you have to be sure you take care of yours.”