Patient Story: A walk to remember

A morning stroll leads to life-saving cardiac intervention

Janet Klassen and her daughter, Hannah Berns, were enjoying their daily walk on a brisk March morning when Janet suddenly felt a pain in her chest and back. After walking two blocks, the athletic Janet felt winded and had to take a break. When they returned home, Hannah, a registered nurse in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at St. Cloud Hospital, insisted her mom head to the emergency room. Janet initially refused, saying she had felt these symptoms in the past and they would go away. She eventually agreed and went to the emergency room at CentraCare Health – Monticello.

“When I arrived they monitored me right away,” Janet said. “The nurses were great.” “After reviewing Janet’s blood work, I was concerned about her cardiac condition,” said Mohammed Hussain, MD, emergency medicine physician at CentraCare Health – Monticello. “I consulted with Dr. Thom Dahle, a cardiologist from the CentraCare Heart & Vascular Center, and explained to Janet that our plan was to get her to a cardiac cath lab to clear two blockages in her coronary arteries.”

Dr. Dahle met Janet, who traveled by ambulance, at St. Cloud Hospital where she received two stents. Janet returned home the next day.

“Working together allows us to quickly diagnose, transfer and treat cardiac patients like Janet,” Dr. Dahle said.

Today, Janet is back to enjoying walks with her daughter and is grateful for coordinated cardiology care close to home. “I am feeling great today because of the emergency cardiology care I received at CentraCare Health – Monticello and St. Cloud Hospital.”