Cypher® Stent Patient Stories

Five different heart stent patients, five different stories, one ending: a second chance at a healthier heart and life after coronary heart disease.
View other stories below.
I have paintings in me that I haven’t painted yet.

BOB - Painter:

Primarily I'm a portrait artist, although I do landscape occasionally, and still life work, also.
SUPER: BOB painter
One of the things that attracts me to painting is that it's just me and a canvas. I enjoy just the solitude of working by myself and having the freedom to pursue my own particular vision or interest or whatever it may be. It started out as just acid reflux, which I've struggled with for years, and then it started to suddenly get more severe. I didn't have any oomph. I was tired a lot. Didn't have much energy, and I wanted to, you know, be more active. The final blow was one day I went out to mow my front lawn, which is not a big deal normally, and I think I'd made like two runs back and forth and I started getting chest pain. And I thought at that point, there was something really going on here. So, I arranged to go in and be checked out for it, and my doctor arranged a treadmill. At that point, they discovered I had fairly major blockage in the vessels. When I was offered the option of a stent, I decided to go for that. I know that this was a procedure that had been done many times, and I felt like the risk was fairly minimal. In retrospect, now, given the way I feel, I'm glad I made the decision, I feel like I'm good for another 30,000 miles, so… I think the quality of a person's life is more important than the quantity, you know, and I don't see any point in sitting around in a chair for 20 years because you don't have the energy to get out and do things. I've had no chest pain or angina since the event. I definitely felt more enthusiastic about life. I have paintings in me that I haven't painted yet. I'm still a curmudgeon. I'm a happier curmudgeon.