My Back Hurts

Service Description

Larry was a 35-year old male who had been experiencing pain between his shoulder blades for the last 4 days. He had obtained temporary relief with massage, but when the pain returned, he wanted to find out what was going on. Larry was about 50 pounds overweight with slightly elevated blood pressure. He was a diabetic and a smoker. Examination revealed some joint problems in the mid part of his back, but it wasn’t enough to explain the degree of pain that he was experiencing. An Electro-Cardiogram (ECG) was performed in our office that was abnormal, showing ischemic (lack of oxygen) changes to the heart muscle. Larry was having a heart attack and the heart was referring pain to his mid-back. Emergency measures were initiated and 911 was called. Larry was transported to the hospital where it was discovered that one of the major blood vessels to his heart was 95% blocked. Following his recovery from angioplasty, it was time to discuss lifestyle changes including; smoking cessation, dietary changes, stress management and nutritional care. This program has been highly successful in reducing the risk of future heart attacks. However, Larry was not interested in altering his lifestyle. We disagreed with Larry’s choices, but respected his right to make them. Unfortunately, Larry suffered another heart attack four years later, only this time, it was fatal.

Contact Details

• 1002 West Elm Avenue, Hermiston, Oregon 97838, USA

  + (541) 567-6277

  timothyp75@gmail.com