Patient finds world-class heart care for complex surgery close to home at Elkhart General

Pat McCain with Shiny Antony at Beacon.

Several months ago, Pat McCain could barely walk to her mailbox without gasping for breath.

Now, she logs 6,500 steps in a single day, thanks to discovering that world-class heart care was waiting right in her hometown.

After years of having a heart murmur monitored, Pat’s condition had reached a critical point. The increasingly severe shortness of breath, fatigue and dizziness were no longer manageable. She and her primary care physician decided it was time to take action.

Pat paid a visit to Dr. Nazmul Huda, an interventional cardiologist at Elkhart General Hospital. Dr. Huda determined that her aortic valve was worsening, a condition for which the only treatment is surgical.

Due to the small size of Pat’s heart valve and because she also needed a bypass, the team recommended open-heart surgery, which would be performed by Dr. Amjad Syed, cardiothoracic surgeon at Beacon Medical Group Cardiothoracic Surgery Elkhart.

For five days after her life-saving procedures, Dr. Syed and his team visited Pat every morning to see how she was feeling and encourage her to walk, an important part of recovery.

Dr. Nazmul Huda

She knew she was in good hands. “It was a whole team approach, and that’s what I liked,” she said. “They monitored everything. I found that they were very, very kind.”

While her surgery was complex, Pat said her recovery was remarkably smooth, results that she attributes to her skillful surgeon and excellent care following the procedure.

Great care close to home

If Pat hadn’t been proactive in researching her options, she might have missed out on exceptional care available locally. Several friends suggested she should just go straight to one of the big-city heart centers, but she wanted to stay close to home if possible.

“I started researching Elkhart,” Pat said. “I was very pleased with what I read and what I found out.” She looked up the doctors on Beacon’s website and read about Beacon’s cardiovascular program. She asked people she knew about their experiences. And she asked plenty of questions at her appointments.

All the evidence indicated to Pat that she could trust in her local hospital and its cardiovascular team.

“It’s such a gift to have a really good program in Elkhart. People should be aware it offers a lot,” she said. “I want the community to know that they don’t have to travel and go to a bigger city or a more well-known program when we have comparable kinds of treatment here in Elkhart.

Feeling whole again

Dr. Amjad Syed

After her surgery, Pat received plenty of guidance so that she didn’t have to wonder what was safe for her to do. “I just felt comfortable,” she said.

When it came time for her to start cardiac rehabilitation, she was ready. The rehabilitation experience, which includes both physical therapy and education, turned out to be better than she could have imagined.

After all, recovering from major heart surgery can be frightening. She feared that she could hurt her heart with too much activity, but cardiac rehabilitation ensured that wouldn’t happen. During exercise, the heart is constantly monitored, so staff can intervene if there are any signs of trouble.

The social aspect of the group was helpful, too. “You’re with this group of people and you get to know them. Everybody has their own stories and you’re sharing information,” she said. “There was cheerleading, camaraderie. The program made me feel whole again.”

Looking back on her experience, Pat marvels at how far she’s come. Her progress inspired her to donate to cardiac care through the Beacon Health Foundation. This generosity is a way to support great care in our community, powered by philanthropy.

“Compared to what could have happened, I feel very grateful,” Pat said. “I just wanted to show my appreciation to Dr. Syed and the whole team.”

Learn more

Beacon Heart, Vascular and Stroke care leads the way in local cardiovascular care. Cardiologists, electrophysiologists, heart surgeons, vascular surgeons, interventional radiologists, stroke specialists, heart failure and rehabilitation team – they are all here at Beacon, delivering the quality care you have come to expect from us.