DISCOVER MORE
See page 11 for our Health and Wellness class
schedule, including the Heart to Heart screen-
ing at the Kroc Center.
HEART TO HEART
INEXPENSIVE SCREENINGS
HELP DETECT ISSUES AND
MAINTAIN HEART HEALTH
Join us for Heart to Heart screenings throughout
the month of February. Screenings are Tuesdays
and Fridays, from February 4 through 25. A special
screening will be held on February 28 at the Kroc
Center in Coeur d’Alene. The cost is $20 for new
participants and $25 for returning participants.
A Heart to Heart screening involves a small finger
stick and provides you with baseline readings for
your blood pressure to detect hypertension, choles-
terol to detect heart disease and fasting glucose to
detect diabetes, as well as other risk factors.
Pete Gardner lives an active lifestyle
and eats healthy, but because of his
family history, he is at greater risk for
heart disease.
By Andrea Nagel
Each year
Kootenai Health offers Heart to Heart
screenings to the community. The goal of these
inexpensive screenings is to give participants a look at
their heart-health indicators and possibly detect any
heart problems they may be facing.
For Pete Gardner, these yearly screenings are remind-
ers to maintain the health and strength he’s worked so
hard to get back.
In 2006 Pete had a heart attack after experiencing
what he describes as an unusual case of heartburn that
lasted about three days.
“I had been working up in the Priest Lake area and
started to experience some heartburn and a presence—
not a pressure—in my chest. That was on a Sunday,”
said Pete, volunteer coordinator for the Idaho De-
partment of Fish and Game. “I never had any heart
problems or bad blood work before. But my dad had a
heart attack when he was 55. He described having a
lot of pressure in his chest; I didn’t have that.”
By Tuesday the heartburn had progressed into short-
ness of breath, a cold sweat and nausea. Recognizing
these red flags, Pete decided to go to the emergency
department at Kootenai Health. Pete’s EKG came back
normal, and he was almost sent home. The emergency
department physician called Kevin Kavanaugh, M.D.,
the on-call cardiologist, and he had a much different
plan.
“Dr. Kavanaugh looked at my tests—all were
normal—and he asked me about my medical history
and symptoms,” Pete said. “Once I explained what I had
been experiencing and told him about my dad, he sug-
gested we do a heart catheter to see what was going on.”
The next day, at just 49 years old, Pete had double
bypass surgery and was on the road to recovery.
After his surgery, Pete participated in Kootenai’s
cardiac rehabilitation program, where he met Joyce
Kratz-Klatt, cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation
supervisor, and first learned about Kootenai’s Heart to
Heart screenings.
“I have always been a healthy, active person, and
right after my surgery my goal was to be able to do
APPOINTMENTS ARE REQUIRED
Call
(208) 666-2083
to schedule your
screening or for additional information.
everything I had before,” he said. “Not only did the
rehab program help me meet my goal; it allowed me to
be out hiking and hunting in a matter of months. I was
back to 100 percent and then some.”
Along with yearly doctor appointments, regular exer-
cise and healthy eating habits, Pete added the Heart to
Heart screenings to his yearly routine to help manage
and keep track of his heart health.
“Although these were designed as preventive
screenings, these regular checkups in between yearly
appointments can also help keep people on track and
provide some reassurance,” Joyce said. “We are able to
send a report to a participant’s physician so he or she
has a record of the results as well.”
“I’m incredibly thankful for the level of care I received
at Kootenai,” Pete said. “Joyce, Deb and Taffy in rehab
were great and keep me on track. I’ve seen them all out
in the community at various events or at the grocery
store—it’s a good little reminder to stay on track be-
cause I know they’ll ask how I’m doing.”
KH . ORG
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