Heart Matters: World-class second opinion from Mayo Clinic confirms excellent care for Beacon heart patient
It was supposed to be a festive evening. In December 2024, Diane Krill had just arrived at a holiday event for the Beacon Health Foundation board when she felt a sharp pain in her chest. She was fortunate to be surrounded by medical professionals who could help.
Diane Krill with her husband and granddaughters.
A physician at the special gathering took her pulse. It was racing.
Diane’s husband didn’t waste any time. He drove her across the street to Beacon Granger Hospital, where doctors confirmed Diane was experiencing another heart attack. It was, in fact, her fourth.
Diane has a condition called with Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection, or SCAD, which is rare and unpredictable, occurring when a tear forms in the wall of a heart artery, slowing or blocking blood flow to the heart.
For someone like Diane, who also lives with high blood pressure, each episode brings uncertainty and anxiety about what might happen next.
A challenging condition to treat
This type of heart attack presents unique treatment challenges. Unlike typical heart attacks, the tears in artery walls often heal on their own, so common interventions like placing stents aren’t usually helpful. Instead, people with SCAD typically manage it with medications to lower blood pressure and reduce stress on the heart, combined with lifestyle changes.
Diane follows this approach diligently, taking her prescribed medications and staying active with daily gym workouts and walks. But after this latest episode, she realized she needed something more than medicine. She wanted peace of mind.
“I trust my cardiologist completely, but I had to see a SCAD specialist to relieve my anxiety, if nothing else,” Diane explains.
The Mayo Clinic connection
It was after this fourth heart attack that she learned about a unique option. Because Beacon Health System is part of the Mayo Clinic Care Network, her cardiologist could consult directly with Mayo Clinic experts who specialize in rare heart conditions like hers.
Dr. Troy Weirick
This gave Diane the chance to get a second opinion while maintaining her existing relationship with Dr. Troy Weirick, interventional cardiologist, Beacon Medical Group Advanced Cardiovascular Specialists RiverPointe in Elkhart.
After reaching out to Beacon’s Mayo Clinic liaison, the process moved quickly and smoothly. Within two days, Diane received a call from the Mayo Clinic cardiology office. After some virtual appointments, she traveled to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., for three days of in-depth testing.
Answers and reassurance
The test results revealed something new: Diane also has fibromuscular dysplasia, or FMD, a condition that affects the shape of blood vessels. FMD is commonly found in patients with her type of heart condition.
While this discovery didn’t change her treatment plan, it provided valuable answers about her overall health.
Even more reassuring was her meeting with a genetic counselor, who confirmed that Diane’s condition isn’t likely something she could pass on to her daughter or granddaughters.
“It gave me that ‘aha’ moment of, ‘OK, I’m going to see my granddaughters again,'” Diane says. “It makes my heart feel good to know that I’ll be around a little longer.”
Most importantly, the Mayo Clinic team validated what Diane had suspected. The care plan Dr. Weirick and his team had developed was exactly what the specialists would recommend. His approach aligned perfectly with the experts’ best practices.
Moving forward with confidence
Diane’s experience with Mayo Clinic exceeded her expectations. “I wish everyone could be fortunate enough to have that kind of experience if they have the need, because it was utterly amazing,” she says. “As a research clinic, Mayo is thorough, which gave me peace of mind.”
Diane Krill and her granddaughters.
Today, Diane keeps doing everything she loves. She stays active with her grandchildren. She walks and travels with friends and volunteers in her community. She’s deeply grateful for both her trusted local care at Beacon and the specialized expertise at Mayo Clinic.
Her advice to others facing similar uncertainty? “I would highly encourage people to take advantage of getting a second opinion,” she says.
Learn more
The partnership between Beacon and the Mayo Clinic Care Network ensures that patients like Diane can access specialized expertise while maintaining the local relationships and care they trust from Beacon Health System. Through Beacon’s membership in the Mayo Clinic Care Network, our physicians are able to collaborate with Mayo Clinic specialists on our most complex cases. This means as you undergo treatment, you are in the best hands possible — so you can focus on what’s most important: You.
