4 RiversideHealthcare.org When Steven Piekarczyk began feeling short of breath in 2024, he thought he might be experiencing the onset of asthma. He certainly didn’t suspect a heart problem. Then his symptoms took a turn for the worse. “My chest just kind of clamped down, and I wasn’t sure what was going on,” says Piekarczyk, 62. “People say a heart attack is the worst pain you’ve ever had in your life. Well, it wasn’t like that. It was just a constant restricted feeling.” His brother took him to Riverside Healthcare’s emergency department, where doctors found the problem: Piekarczyk had several blocked coronary arteries. To restore blood flow to his heart, cardiothoracic surgeon Philip Alexander, MD, performed quadruple coronary artery bypass surgery. “When Dr. Alexander walks into A heart in good hands Expert care, right here at Riverside a room, he has a commanding presence. He’s 100% business, and you feel that he’s the best of the best,” Piekarczyk says. “I wasn’t nervous at all. I thought, if anyone could save me, it’s this guy.” The road back to health Piekarczyk’s surgery was successful. But a few days later, he went into cardiac arrest and had to be resuscitated. To reduce his future risk of cardiac arrest, his heart team implanted a combined pacemaker and ICD (implantable cardioverter defibrillator) under his skin. The device helps regulate his heartbeat and, if it senses a life-threatening abnormal heartbeat, it delivers a shock to correct the problem. Piekarczyk’s recovery from his heart attack and open-heart surgery included inpatient rehabilitation, followed by home-based rehab guided by his Riverside team. He then enrolled in outpatient cardiac rehabilitation, a tailored program of exercise and heart-health education. Lucas Kime is an exercise physiologist who worked with Piekarczyk at Riverside’s Bourbonnais Campus. “I would say 99% of cardiac rehab participants just want to get back to their normal,” Kime says. “That’s where we fit in.” Help at every step Cardiac rehab gives people the confidence and competence to safely resume a physically active lifestyle after a major heart event, Kime says. Participants exercise on a variety of equipment, such as treadmills and stationary bikes, to gradually rebuild strength and endurance. “Steven was weaker than he wanted to be when he came in,” Kime says.
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