Quick thinking and immediate medical attention mean a heart attack victim will return home today after a scary ride to Portsmouth Regional Hospital from Newburyport on Friday.
Theodore Nawn, 51, of Canton, was doing work at the Mobil gas station at the corner of High and State streets when he complained of intermittent neck and chest pain. Colleagues called for help.
As AMR emergency personnel raced Nawn to Portsmouth, they alerted the hospital their patient coded in the ambulance, said Nancy Notis of Portsmouth Regional Hospital.
Arriving at the emergency room, Nawn went immediately to the heart catheterization lab, Notis said, with the hospital's open-heart cardiac team at the ready. Luckily, open heart surgery was averted, she said. Nawn's blockage was eliminated with a stent to open the blocked vessels.
He's recovered so well from the near fatal incident, he should be going home today, Notis said.
"The moral to the story is always pay attention to the warning signs of heart disease, and to get help right away," Notis said.
