Patients celebrate renewed hearts at reunion

Dr. John J. Guerriero, a Boardman resident, isn’t greedy. At 84, the father of six daughters and retired optometrist says he’s had a great life. When he suffered a heart attack last summer, he figured his time was up. He was willing to go without a fight.

His daughters weren’t as complacent. They knew their father had a lot of living left. After several hours of pleading with him to consent to treatment, Guerriero gave in, was admitted to St. Elizabeth Health Center and was wheeled into the heart catheterization lab. Dr. Robert Houston, a Humility of Mary Health Partners cardiologist, inserted a stent into one of Guerriero’s heart vessels, a vessel that was 100 percent blocked.

“I felt wonderful,” Guerriero says, recalling how he felt almost immediately after the stent was inserted.

The bad news was that Guerriero’s other four heart vessels were 95 percent blocked.

Dr. Jeffrey Fulton, whose son plays baseball with one of Guerriero’s grandsons, proposed he undergo heart bypass surgery.

“I just didn’t want to do all of that,” Guerriero says.

Inspired by how much better he felt after the stent was inserted, and the pleadings of his daughters, Guerriero consented.

Today his life is even better than it was before.

“I ride my bike in the park six miles every day. I play tennis three times a week. I go to the gym, I’m in great shape.” Guerriero says

Undergoing heart catheterization and bypass surgery weren’t fun, but they were definitely worth it, he says.

Guerriero was one of nearly 70 patients who have undergone open-heart surgery in the past year celebrating with family, friends, physicians, nurses and other health care providers during St. Elizabeth Heart and Vascular Center’s Renewed Hearts Reunion April 8 at Antone’s Banquet Centre in Boardman. This is the eighth year for the annual event.

“What we really like about this event is that we get to see you back to normal, in your normal clothes – not a hospital gown, out to dinner, having a good time,” Fulton said, welcoming patients and their guests.

It’s also an opportunity for patients to share their experiences with each other and collectively celebrate their good health.