Heartfelt Advice

At the suggestion of his physician, Rob Lord jumped on a treadmill for a routine stress test on June 7, 2019. The following day, the President of Cleveland Clinic Martin Health underwent open-heart surgery.

 

He had no symptoms and in fact felt good during the stress test requested by his cardiologist, Joseph Gage, M.D. However, results signaled the need for a cardiac catheterization, which revealed a blockage in the left anterior descending artery, often referred to as the widowmaker.

 

Stephen McIntyre, M.D. performed the catheterization and advised Lord and his wife, Bethany of the results. “Because of the location of the blockage, the right answer for me was to have open heart surgery. And they wanted to do that the following morning.” In a matter of hours, Lord’s world had been turned upside down. 

 

One certainty amid the emotional stress was that he would have heart surgery at the Frances Langford Heart Center at Cleveland Clinic. “I could have gone anywhere, but I didn’t hesitate to have it here, because I knew we had as fine a team as anywhere in the country.”

 

A year before Cleveland Clinic and Martin Health System began integrating in 2019, the two healthcare systems had established a cardiac affiliation to share best practices in cardiology and heart surgery.

 

As part of that initial affiliation, cardiothoracic surgeon Edward Savage, M.D., was brought in from Cleveland Clinic Florida as Medical Director of Cardiovascular Surgical Services. Less than a year later, Lord entrusted Dr. Savage with his own life. “The care I received was phenomenal. Dr. Savage is obviously a very skilled physician, but he also communicated so well with me. The same was true of his staff.”

 

There was also tremendous satisfaction for Lord, in what he calls, “the remarkable care” he received at Cleveland Clinic Martin North Hospital. “It was a very emotional experience for me to see the care and the spirit that not only took care of me, but all the other patients during my hospital stay.”

 

Months after surgery, Lord is thirty pounds lighter, walking up to three miles a day and relishing the idea of watching his grandchildren grow. He says he can’t overstate the importance of the support he received while recovering, from his wife, daughters, family members and friends.

 

He’s also eager to share lessons learned from his medical emergency. “My health had deteriorated and I did not know it, because it was so slow, so gradual.”

 

His advice is twofold. First, establish a relationship with a physician. “My physician looked at my chart and realized that I had not had a stress test in quite a long time.” He’s also advocating personal responsibility. “I got so busy, I didn’t take care of myself, so I’ve changed that and I hope my story will motivate others to do that too.”