LINCOLN, Neb. (COLOGNE) – American Heart Month brings the importance of taking care of your heart to the forefront. A Seward man’s healthy lifestyle paid off when he received a diagnosis that changed his life.
Roger Craige trains almost every day at the Seward Fitness Center. It’s part of him. Just three months ago, he was heading to the incline with nearly 500 pounds of press. But everything soon changed.
“I had no idea what a heart attack was. My whole body started hurting and I started burning. I thought, ‘I don’t feel right,'” Craige said.
Krege called a friend and advised him to go to the hospital immediately. Unaware he was having a heart attack, he drove himself to the hospital.
Doctors told him what was happening and said that although it was a heart attack, they had narrowly missed what they called a “major attack.”
“It’s like a cartoon when a guy comes out and his mouth goes to the ground saying, ‘We just missed out on such a huge opportunity,'” Craige said.
Craige was taken to CHI Health Nebraska Heart Hospital in Lincoln, where he underwent triple bypass surgery. Krege and his doctors believe that the care they gave his body over nearly 70 years helped him fight back.
“Doctors told me that if you didn’t eat like you do and exercise like you do, you would have died 15 years ago,” Krege said.
Dr. Anuradha Tunuguntla, a cardiologist at CHI Health Nebraska Heart, said it’s important to take care of your heart even if you’re feeling well.
“Everyone should talk to their GP because we know that high blood pressure is sometimes a silent killer. You may not even know you have high blood pressure and feel perfectly fine. “There is a possibility that there is a possibility that the
After spending some time in a hospital bed, Craige is back to doing what he loves most.
“They said my heart wasn’t working perfectly when I lifted things, so eventually I should be able to do what I was doing before,” Krege said.
Now, he has a message for those who are hesitant about seeing a doctor this Heart Month.
“Get tested at least once a year. You may not be okay, or you may think you’re okay,” Craige says. “Checking out is much cheaper than a funeral, so it’s worth going once.”
Krege underwent a series of physical therapy sessions and continues to build up her strength every day, ultimately getting back to where she was just three months ago.
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