Emergencies don’t happen on schedule.
And for Henry Warmath, a cardiac crisis arose while traveling through Star Valley on a work trip. Henry was driving from Salt Lake City to Jackson in his company’s van, a trip he had made many times. “It was just one of those normal mornings.”
Until it wasn’t.
Henry began to experience a heart arrhythmia, or irregular heartbeat. Henry lives with an inherited arrhythmia, so he had experienced the symptoms of arrhythmia before. But instead of a brief episode, it lingered. Henry could feel his heartbeat speeding up and slowing down. As he continued to drive, panic started to set in. He describes the moment: “Just an absolute spiral.”
Henry was far from home – but he knew that help was nearby. After weighing his options, Henry headed towards our Afton hospital.
“It’s hard going through something away from home,” says Henry. “I felt scared, and I felt like something bad was going to happen. As soon as I walked in the door, I started to feel safe.”
Our ER team conducted a full workup, including an electrocardiogram (EKG). Thankfully, test results revealed that Henry’s symptoms were not a developing major cardiac event, but the effects of his pre-existing heart arrhythmia combined with a panic attack.
After administering medication for anxiety relief, Henry was monitored for several hours before discharge. Henry’s wife arrived to drive him home, while coworkers came to pick up the van. After returning to Utah, Henry met with his local doctor for further testing and to form a plan of heart care for the future.
With gratitude for the day’s results, Henry implores others to take health complications seriously. “Take care of yourself,” urges Henry. “If you’re experiencing symptoms, your health is at risk. Getting to the ER is the right decision. Curb the damage and just go get it checked out.”
He reflects on his experience in Afton: “I’m grateful that there is a hospital there, because I don’t know if I would have made it all the way to Jackson. The people are great at Star Valley Health. Amazing job, everybody.”
