Avera Chairman and CEO Bob Sutton thought she was doing pretty well with her exercise routine and daily diet. Maybe playing around with a cheeseburger or pepperoni pizza once in a while. Maybe opt for Netflix instead of taking a late night walk.
“Once I let one thing slide, I let other things slide. It was easy to think, ‘Well, I’m not doing too bad compared to so-and-so,’” Sutton said.
Sutton tried to stay alert because he knew of her family history of heart disease; in fact, her father died of a heart attack when Bob was only 5 years old. He “He passed away in 1973, after having had two previous heart attacks.”
So, throughout her adult life, Sutton has been aware of her hereditary risk. “But when you fall asleep thinking you’re probably okay, that’s a dangerous place when you have a family history like mine.”
4:30 a.m. Wake-up call
On October 19, 2021, Sutton woke up at 4:30 a.m. with pain that she described as “excruciating, like someone was standing on my chest.”
“I thought maybe I had slept badly or it was something muscular, anything but a cardiac event. I tried sitting up and stretching, but that made things worse. So I lay back down for a couple of minutes and thought surely this would pass. But it didn’t happen, so I woke up my wife, Lori, and told her that she had some trouble here.”
I knew I had to go to Avera Heart Hospital to get it checked out and tests revealed blockages. At noon that day, “I was the proud owner of two stents in the main arteries of my heart,” Sutton said. A stent is a small, flexible metal sheath that is placed inside a blocked vessel to restore blood flow. For Sutton, it was accomplished during a cardiac catheterization procedure.
Working towards a heart-healthy lifestyle
Avera CEO Bob Sutton does cardiac rehab
The cardiac rehab that followed was like hitting the reset button on his lifestyle. “Follow-up is extremely important,” Sutton said. “You can’t go back to the exercise routine you had before. You have to get back to work on it.”
Before her cardiac event, Sutton’s exercise routine could be described as “random.” “Now, I exercise a minimum of 40 minutes up to an hour, six days a week.” This includes alternating between an indoor treadmill and elliptical, or a light jog or brisk walk outdoors.
With the guidance of cardiac rehab experts, he also significantly changed his diet. He “he was a big fan of fried food, pizza and red meat”.
Now, Sutton finds herself eating fish three days a week, mostly salmon and tuna, and lots of vegetables like salad, broccoli and asparagus. “I’m from South Dakota through and through, and I love a large ribeye steak. But if and when I do have it, it has to be in moderation.”
Food author Michael Pollan gave his best food advice in seven words: “Eat food, not too much, mostly plants.”
Sutton says she asks herself a few questions before filling her plate: “Do I need it? Do I need that much? Are they mainly plants?
Pay attention to the warning signs of a heart attack
“Most people get their idea of a heart attack from the movies: crushing pain, a guy clutching his chest, sweating,” said Michael Hibbard, MD, a Sutton cardiologist at North Central Heart. “But it’s much more common to be out of breath, out of breath, and maybe have a little bit of numbness or tingling in your arm. Most people will come up with any other explanation than acute coronary syndrome.”
If she hadn’t been paying attention to her body’s warning signals and getting help right away, Sutton could have lost up to half of her heart function and could have lost her life.
Keeping up with your yearly checkups is important when it comes to heart health. Your primary care doctor can help you manage risk factors such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Also talk to your provider about any symptoms you are experiencing that are out of the ordinary, such as shortness of breath.
live with more energy
Since his cardiac event, Sutton has lost nearly 30 pounds. “I feel fantastic. I have more energy Walking up the stairs, I’m not out of breath. I love being active outside, like walking or kayaking.”
He has a list of things he wants to experience before he dies, headed by celebrating 50 years of marriage to his wife, Lori, and walking their daughter down the aisle. “She may not choose to get married, but if she does, I want to be there. There are certain milestones in life that you want to be there for.”
Part of prevention is getting outdoors with friends. Top image: Near Valentine, Nebraska, from left, Dave Flicek, Bob Sutton, Robert Fouberg, and Dr. David Erickson.
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Source: news.google.com