Beacon team’s quick action saves colleague’s life after heart attack scare

Jeanine Smith has spent much of her career caring for others as an associate at Beacon Health System, most recently working alongside orthopedic surgeon Dr. Ryan O’Rourke as a certified medical assistant at Beacon Medical Group Bone and Joint Specialists in South Bend.

Active and healthy with no family history of heart disease, Jeanine never imagined that she would one day find herself on the other side of care as a heart patient at Beacon, facing a medical emergency that would change her life forever.

Warning signs

Jeanine has always lived with some anxiety, but she says she didn’t dwell on it. So when she began feeling chest discomfort in early 2020 during the pandemic, she assumed it was stress-related.

“At the time, I worked for outpatient services at Memorial Hospital. And I just kind of played it off and thought, ‘Oh, it’ll be OK, this is normal.’”

But on that morning in March, what she felt was far from normal. “I woke up in so much pain — I had that crushing chest pain. And that’s when I realized that it was way more than my anxiety.”

She woke up her husband, Cory, and let him know that she was going to drive herself to the hospital since there were restrictions on visitors. Looking back, Jeanine knows driving herself was very risky and not recommended. Ambulance paramedics are trained to provide life-saving care on the way to the hospital.

Important discovery

Initial testing at the Memorial Hospital Emergency Care Center showed that Jeanine had a normal EKG and slightly elevated blood pressure. That’s when she met emergency medicine physician, Dr. Patrick Studtman. “He’s so wonderful. He went over some things, and he said, ‘You know, before I discharge you, let’s just draw some blood,’” Jeanine recalled.

Jeanine’s bloodwork results were concerning. She had elevated troponin levels. Troponin is a protein found in heart muscle. When your heart is damaged, like during a heart attack, troponin leaks into your blood. High levels mean your heart muscle has been injured.

“That’s when things changed really quickly,” Jeanine said. “That’s when Dr. Studtman said, ‘I’m going to have Dr. Mittal come and talk with you.’”

Dr. Mayank Mittal, interventional cardiologist at Beacon Medical Group Advanced Cardiology Specialists South Bend, was familiar to Jeanine. He explained how he was concerned about a possible infection around her heart and wanted her to stay in the hospital for observation.

Jeanine agreed to stay overnight, but the situation escalated quickly as her troponin levels kept increasing over multiple lab draws. Dr. Mittal wanted to avoid the risk associated with invasive procedures, but wanted to make sure that Jeanine didn’t have a rare form of early heart disease called premature atherosclerosis.

To better understand what was happening in Jeanine’s heart, he proceeded with an emergent test called cardiac coronary computed tomography fractional flow reserve, or CT-FFR.

This noninvasive, advanced scan takes detailed pictures of the heart and uses computer technology to show how blood flows through the arteries. Instead of just seeing if an artery looks narrow, it helps doctors know if that narrowing is actually reducing blood flow and putting stress on the heart. It gives a clearer picture of whether treatment is needed.

“CT-FFR showed that she had 99% stenosis in her left circumflex artery, and she was rushed urgently to the cardiac catheterization lab for an angiogram,” Dr. Mittal said. The circumflex artery is one of the major arteries that wraps around the left side of the heart and supplies oxygenated blood to the back of the heart muscle.

“That’s when they found the blockage and I realized that I was having a heart attack. It was crazy,” Jeanine said.

Life-saving intervention

Jeanine was awake during the stent placement and remembered looking at Dr. Mittal as she experienced the sensation of the device opening the blocked artery in her heart.

“I said, ‘Oh, what was that?’ He said, ‘That was that stent going in, and that just opened up your heart artery blockage.’ The difference was amazing! I felt so different. I felt good,” Jeanine said.

After being taken back to her room following the procedure, Jeanine needed to lay flat for just an hour because she got meds to make her sleepy. She was able to go home the very next day.

“I couldn’t believe that. I was like, are you sure? I stayed off work the whole week. I just felt tired. My chest pain was gone, but I just felt tired.”

Jeanine was very pleased how Dr. Mittal heard her concerns and moved so quickly. She came to the Emergency Department at 11:40 a.m. and was seen by the cardiologist in less than an hour. She underwent the CT scan at 2 p.m. and got her artery open at 4 p.m.

From start to finish, the heart team demonstrated remarkable efficiency. The Memorial Hospital cardiac cath lab worked like a finely tuned system, providing comfort and confidence throughout the process.

A new way of living

Since her heart attack, Jeanine has accomplished some big changes.

“I’ve lost almost 50 pounds. I always thought I wasn’t a terrible eater. I have changed my diet a lot — I eat less. I learned from Dr. Mittal that it’s genetics, in my case, that played into all of this.”

Jeanine still sees Dr. Mittal regularly and stays vigilant about her heart health. She experienced some chest pain and went back to the hospital in June 2024. As luck would have it, Dr. Mittal was on call again and took care of her.

Thankfully, no procedures were needed. Jeanine knows she still has a couple of smaller blockages in her arteries, but with Dr. Mittal’s guidance, she feels reassured.

“I remember Dr. Mittal said, ‘Let me take care of your heart. You live your life. Let me worry about your heart.’ I love that about him.”

Today, Jeanine is thriving.

“I do exercise regularly now. I walked a lot before, but I didn’t like exercising. And so that’s when I met my personal trainer. Now, after my heart attack, I work out three to four times a week. That is my peace, my time to decompress. And that’s what I’ve found I love. People ask me, ‘What’s your hobby?’ And I never thought I’d be this person, but it’s the gym! That’s my hobby! I love it!”

Her outlook on life changed, too. “I look at life differently,” Jeanine said. “You know, we always take things for granted. Sometimes I have to step back a little bit and remind myself how thankful I am and that I’m here.”

Every year, the day Jeanine survived her heart attack is more than a date on the calendar: It’s a celebration of life. Her husband makes sure of that. “Cory has it marked in his calendar because he always tells me congratulations, and that I’m a survivor every year on that day! He’s so good!”

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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.