WORDS FOR THE HEART How one woman read the signs that saved her life. Article Provided by Sanford Health
V
icki Vance was sent a sign―a lifesaving message that showed up at her doorstep printed in black and white.
“I just happened to read a story in the paper about a woman who had a heart screen at Sanford Health,” said the 63-year-old. “A problem was found during her heart screen, which potentially saved her life.” Vance wasn’t immediately moved to schedule a heart screen. Not until her mother, who also read the same article, encouraged her to get screened. Other than diabetes, Vance had no glaring reasons to be concerned about her heart health. “I have no family history of heart disease, and I wasn’t experiencing any symptoms,” she said. “My blood pressure and cholesterol were both just fine. So a heart screen wasn’t something that crossed my mind a lot.” Still, for some reason, Vance scheduled a heart screen. And it proved to be one of the smartest decisions she could have made. Because this decision, according to Vance, unequivocally saved her life.
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During the scan at the Sanford Center for Screening in April 2014, her initial results all came back normal. Because Vance is diabetic, a cardiac CT scan was done to check for calcium deposits in the coronary arteries. “I was shocked at my results,” Vance remarked. “The technician told me that my calcium score could range from zero to 400 or more. My number was 2,850.3, which is off the charts.” Vance’s first reaction was that the test must have been a mistake. But the technician trusted the results and recommended Vance see a cardiologist as soon as possible. Holly Boub, clinical manager of prevention and wellness at the screening center, said the screening services are available to all adults between the ages of 25 and 75, regardless of whether they have symptoms or not. And no referral is needed. “Even if you don’t suspect anything, you can come in and at the least get a baseline screening to know where you stand,” Boub said. “But we may also be able discover a