Parma Hospital's Magazine for Healthy Living and Education

PARMA HOSPITAL CARDIAC CARE
ER doctor experiences own emergency
John Lazo Jr., MD,
reasoned away the winded
weariness he felt after
even brief
sessions
of
yard
work,
chalking
it
up to the
Joseph
Lahorra, MD
heat and
added
weight that had accumulated
through the years.
When scheduled for
an evening shift in Parma
Hospital’s Emergency
Department, this physician
of 33 years, who once
had boundless energy, was
now having to take a nap
before work. Like most
people, the 64-year-old
assumed he was “just getting
older.”
“I didn’t have the energy,
and I didn’t have the
stamina anymore,” said
Lazo. “I thought I was
feeling OK for someone
who was overweight
and out of shape, and I
thought ‘Well, I’m not as
young as I used to be.’ I
was denying the obvious.”
A shopping trip
sealed his fate. One day
at a home improvement
store, after pushing a cart
loaded with lumber all the
way to the checkout, he
arrived beside the cashier
looking ashen. Dizzy and
lightheaded, he called his
wife, Donnalynn.
His next call was to
his cardiologist.
The aortic stenosis
that Gerald Burma, MD
had been monitoring
had now suddenly gotten
markedly worse. The
frequent exhaustion Lazo
had been feeling was the
failure of his aortic valve
to fully open when blood
flows from the heart into
the aorta, the main artery
carrying blood to the rest
of the body.
Lazo definitely had
been feeling more tired
but had never experienced
any chest pain. Nevertheless,
Dr. Burma performed
a cardiac catheterization
that confirmed severe
aortic valve disease and
also discovered an 80 percent
blockage of another
artery. Dr. Lazo was now
“patient Lazo.”
After consultation
with Joseph
Lahorra, MD – a
Cleveland Clinic
Cardiothoracic
surgeon who has
been a member of
Parma Hospital’s
medical staff since
the Heart Center
opened – the surgery
date was set, and the
type of valve replacement
and bypass was determined.
Leading up to his
scheduled surgery date,
Dr. Lahorra warned Lazo
to stay within 30 minutes
of a hospital at all times.
“Aortic stenosis is a
progressive process,” Dr.
Lahorra said. “Once the
narrowing is in the severe
range and symptoms have
developed, patients do not
survive very long without
surgery to replace the
valve. John’s aortic valve
had reached a critical degree
of blockage. He had
arrived at the edge of a
very dangerous precipice
and needed aortic valve
replacement not only to
restore his quality of life
but to preserve his life.”
Lazo spent five days
recovering in the Heart
Center following a surgery
that lasted over six
hours. Specially trained
nurses and doctors gave
him the same personalized,
attentive care that all
their patients receive. His
wife, who had abundant
confidence in Dr. Lahorra
and the staff, said she felt
somewhat guilty at times
that she wasn’t more worried
about the outcome.
They went in with a positive
attitude, focusing on
a future of a growing old
together and enjoying
their grandson.
“I was amazed at how
good I was feeling,” Lazo
“Don’t be in denial. Symptoms need
to be promptly addressed,” said John
Lazo Jr., MD, an Emergency Medicine
physician who explained away the
warning signs of his own worsening
heart condition. “A physician who treats
himself – and ignores his symptoms –
has a fool as a patient.”
recalled. “Even
on the third or
fourth day after
surgery I was
feeling better
than I had before
the surgery.”
Once he had
returned home,
he restricted
his salt intake
and scrutinized
calories in everything
he ate.
He began attending
Cardiac
Rehabilitation, a
supervised exercise
program
for patients who
have had surgery
or a cardiac
event. Now six
months after his
surgery, Lazo
has dropped
more than 38
pounds.
Annual CT
scans will be
done to check
the diameter of Lazo’s
aorta and ensure that
there is no leakage or dissection.
Lazo continues to
take maintenance medications
for high blood pressure
and cholesterol.
And now he’s looking
forward to the warm
weather instead of dreading
it.
“I’m looking forward
to running and playing
with my grandson, now
that I feel I’ve been given
a new lease on life,” Lazo
said.
Symptoms of aortic stenosis include:
• Breathlessness with activity
• Chest pain, including pressure, tightness,
squeezing or crushing
• Pain increases with exercise, relieved with
rest
• Fainting, weakness, or dizziness with activity
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