Patient
I had chest pains, shortness of breath and profuse sweating and was rushed to the Rio Grande Regional Hospital in McAllen in an ambulance and upon arrival received immediate attention and numerous blood and EKG tests and an echocardiogram were performed within a few hours and I was admitted to the hospital and the next day after consultation with the cardiologist it was decided to proceed with a look inside my heart to determine what was stressing my heart and he went ahead with the procedure and found 2 locations in one of the arteries feeding blood to the right side of my heart muscle . The first blockage was 70 % blocked and the next one was 99% blocked. He proceeded to install a stent at each location and corrected the blockage. I was put in to a recovery area where the staff watched me and my vital signs to ensure I was stable for a couple hours. I was then returned to my hospital room for the night and was constantly monitored and several blood tests were conducted during the night. The next day the cardiologist and other staff came to see how I was doing and they were all very helpful and answered all my questions and concerns. The cardiologist explained that the operation was very successful and that no damage was done to my heart muscle and that it is functioning as it should be and that I will be able to return to normal activity in a short time but to not do anything strenuous for the next 2 weeks. I was released from the hospital that afternoon, the day after the stents were installed and I felt fine. From when I arrived in the ambulance to when I was released all the staff were very professional, friendly and explained everything that was going on with my treatment and willing to answer any questions. Even the meals were very good and more than I had expected. After spending the nights in the hospital around 10 in the morning there was a prayer for all the patients in the hospital that came over the intercom system throughout the hospital and it was very much appreciated and brought tears to my wife's eyes. My experience at the hospital could not have been better. The only small suggestion I could think of is for the staff to quickly shave the area where a IV needle with tape to hold it and where the EKG pads are placed on a man's hairy arm and chest so that when they are removed it doesn't have to be like a torture. When I went into the area where the cardiologist was going to preform the procedure the staff immediately shaved my chest and groin area (where procedure was going to tap into my femoral artery) which made the removal of the EKG pads and tape and gauze (at the wound site) sooo much easier . Thanks for fixing me up so quickly and now I should be good for another 72 years! God bless you all.