SJCH 2013 ANNUAL REPORT
13
PLOT TWIST!
HEALTHIER HABITS CAN SAVE YOUR LIFE
Once upon a time, a children’s librarian named
Dawn Jackson starred in her own story of
courage, heroics and life-changing events.
Thankfully, like so many of the tales she reads
to the kids visiting her library, Jackson’s saga
also included a happily-ever-after. But not
before some scary moments, heroic deeds
and a commitment to make the most of what
amounts to a second chance at a healthy life.
Heart disease kills an estimated 630,000
Americans each year. It’s the leading cause
of death for both men and women. In the
United States, the most common type of heart
disease is coronary artery disease (CAD), which
can lead to a heart attack. The risk for CAD can
be greatly reduced through lifestyle changes
and, in some cases, medication.
It was in the early morning hours on Feb. 1,
2013, when Jackson woke up with a burning
pain in the center of her chest. Combined
with the light pain and shortness of breath
she had been experiencing for a couple
of days, she knew something was wrong.
Very wrong.
911 was called and, at her request, Jackson
was transported by ambulance to San
Joaquin Community Hospital’s (SJCH)
Nationally Accredited Chest Pain Center.
At only 39 years old, Jackson thought she
was too young for any real heart issues. But,
just the same, she said, it was comforting to
be around the experts at SJCH.
“All my tests came back normal, but I was still
having chest pain,” Jackson recalled. “It was a
mystery, and a very frightening one.”
Jackson’s health care team—which included
SJCH Emergency Center Medical Director
Joshua Tobias, MD, and nurse practitioner
Flora David—would be key players in this
plot. Agreeing with their patient that her
symptoms must mean something, a stress
test was ordered. This turned out to be a very
important part of Jackson’s story … and the
key to putting her on the path to recovery.
The results of the stress test, which moni-
tored Jackson’s heart activity while she
walked on a treadmill, revealed that she was
experiencing a series of very small heart
attacks. That’s when our main character
was rushed immediately to SJCH’s Cath Lab,
where Leopoldo Puga, MD, placed two stents
into two major arteries in Jackson’s heart.
The procedure—called angioplasty—
showed that one of Jackson’s arteries was
99.9 percent blocked and the other was
85 percent blocked.
This damsel was indeed in distress.
But, as promised, this story has a very happy
ending: Jackson has since turned the Big 4-0
and is living a completely different lifestyle
that includes healthy eating and regular
exercise.
“SJCH literally saved, and then changed, my
life,” Jackson said.
SJCH literally
saved, and
then changed,
my life.
Dawn Jackson,
SJCH Chest Pain
Center patient
—DAWN JACKSON
