HEART
THE RIGHT PLACE. THE RIGHT TEAM. Larae Wenzel at St. Luke's Cardiac Rehabilitation with Andrea Welter, RN.
As a long-time housekeeper in St. Luke’s Emergency Department, Larae Wenzel never imagined she’d be on the receiving side of that expert heart care she’s witnessed during her nearly 24 years working at the hospital. “I was in the middle of my shift when I felt pressure in my chest,” explained Wenzel. “I thought it might be gas or acid reflux, so I took a gas tablet. The pain just kept getting worse. I went to the head nurse and told her what was going on. She immediately walked me over to triage and it wasn’t long before I was up in the heart catherization lab.”
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“When she approached me with her symptoms, I told her she needed to have it checked out because they sounded like cardiac symptoms,” explained Angie Kramer, St. Luke’s ER nurse supervisor. “She was quickly moved from triage to one of our ER rooms where we hooked her up to a heart monitor and started an IV. I asked her if she wanted me to contact anyone and she asked me to get ahold of her children.”
Heart Attack “Larae was having a heart attack and her blood pressure was high,” shared Subhi Halawa, MD, St. Luke’s Heart Care
cardiologist. “She went straight to the cath lab where one of her vessels was blocked with a large clot and I placed a stent. Some of those clot pieces broke off and went to another vessel downstream and we cleaned it up as well.” “I was able to get ahold of her son to let him know what was happening and that his mom was okay,” shared Kramer. “I explained what was going on and the plan for his mom. After talking with Larae it became clear her son needed a ride to St. Luke’s. I went and picked him up and we arrived back at the hospital just in time before her procedure.”
