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Local family grateful for advanced heart procedures at Sharon Regional
Terry DeMaria, his wife Deborah, and their English Setter enjoy a moment in their Hermitage home.
A few hours after awakening at 1 a.m. in his Hermitage home with intense pain in his chest, Terry DeMaria had undergone an emergency angioplasty in Sharon Regional’s Heart Institute and received two stents to open a clogged artery. First was Terry’s evaluation at Sharon Regional’s Emergency Care Center and numerous medical tests, including two EKGs.
The emergency team confirmed Terry was indeed experiencing a heart attack and called in Ronnie Mignella, M.D., interventional cardiologist, with Regional Cardiology Associates, who performed the angioplasty.
Sharon Regional is the only hospital in Mercer County with the clinical expertise and advanced technology to offer emergency angioplasty and open-heart surgery 24 hours a day. At other hospitals, patients must wait to be transferred to Pittsburgh or other out-of-town facilities, risking further damage to precious heart muscle.
“I really didn’t have any warning signs and was just as active as always,” Terry recalls. “But looking back, I was a little more tired than usual and seemed to get worn out a lot. And I probably should have been more careful with some high cholesterol.”
Terry’s wife, Deborah, fondly remembers Sharon Regional.
“Please know that my husband, my family and I are forever grateful to all of you at the Health System,” she writes in a letter of thanks. “Our community is ever so fortunate to have such a facility right here in our Valley.”
“From the time we walked into the emergency room and throughout Terry’s months of cardiac rehabilitation that followed, my husband was blessed with an incredible, knowledgeable team of doctors, nurses, therapists, dieticians, and aides.
Today, Terry is active with his family, as a musician (some may remember Terry with Menagerie, former rock band in the Shenango Valley), raising and training his English Setter hunting dog, and even shoveling a little snow.
“No one is exempt from a heart attack,” Terry adds. “I’d advise everyone to get a blood check every year and if you have high cholesterol then keep it under control.”
Heart attack warning Signs…
If you or a loved one experience any type of chest discomfort it is wise to assume it is your heart until proven otherwise. Heart attacks affect all people differently – some people may have crushing or squeezing chest pain, nausea, and sweating. Other people may feel only mild sensations of tightness, fullness, shortness of breath, feeling tired or short of breath. Arm, jaw, neck, teeth and ear pain have all occurred when someone is having a heart attack…Whatever the symptoms, don’t delay, don’t hope it will go away, call 911 and go to Sharon Regional’s Emergency Care Center.
Heart disease kills more people in the U.S. than any other cause of death. Studies show that early identification of symptoms and treatment greatly improve the chances of survival and subsequent quality of life, as well as limit the damage done to your heart.
Sharon Regional’s Heart Institute offers a number of Advanced Heart Procedures, including:
- Open Heart & Valve Surgery
- Angioplasty (Primary & Rescue)
- Emergency Heart Attack Treatment
- Electrophysiology
- High-Risk Cardiac Catheterizations
- Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators
- Beventricular Pacemakers
- Pacemaker Implants
- Pacemaker/ICD Clinic
For more information, please call 724-983-3882
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