Del Record's Story: Changing Seacoast Lives

Del Record's Story: Changing Seacoast Lives

Del Record was 59 when he suffered a heart attack that was totally unexpected. Del, who was active in many sports and activities, was treated at Portsmouth Regional Hospital. This is his story... http://portsmouthhospital.com

Though he knew his family's heart history, Del Record kept himself active, in good health, and never thought it would happen to him.

Now, the life-long Rye resident is a heart attack survivor, working locally to raise awareness as part of Portsmouth Regional Hospital's Heart Health Awareness Month campaign this February. Record is raising awareness through public service announcements on local radio stations and is featured in a video to be broadcast on the Web sites of the Portsmouth Herald and Portsmouth Regional Hospital.

Record's father had angioplasty, to widen a narrow or obstructed blood vessel, and bypass surgery before he died of a heart attack at the age of 67. Record thought he was living his life on a healthier road than his father, as an avid tennis player and skier, while also maintaining a healthy diet — besides a coffee indulgence here and there. But in July of 2009, at the age of 59, he also suffered a heart attack.

It was a hot and muggy day when Record and his wife Susan were working outside and he began noticing chest discomfort, which he attributed to heat and eating his lunch too quickly.

"But it was different," said Record who is EMS trained and has worked ski patrol at Gunstock Mountain for nearly 20 years. "It was different from any other chest pain I've had, it's difficult to describe. It was kind of electrical. It was painful and it radiated down my left arm, which is a real important sign to me."

In the span of 15 to 20 minutes, Record took a few aspirin, checked his pulse and blood pressure, which both seemed healthy, and tried to relax. But the pain continued and he and his wife called Rye EMS who suited Record with a cardiac monitor and blood pressure cuff. An initial review didn't show anything unusual, but based on his symptoms, Record was transported to Portsmouth Regional Hospital. It was during the ambulance ride that he became "really uncomfortable," and the emergency crew advised that he would be treated for a heart attack.

"They said to be prepared when you go in, that it will be hectic," Record said. "I don't know how many people, eight, ten. I have described the scene as being consistent with military precision. Everyone knew what to do, when to do it."

Record says he remembers being wheeled to an operating room at Portsmouth Regional and on the way seeing two hospital staff members running down a corridor when they called out the time.

"I'm very familiar with what's called the golden hour in rescue," Record said. "I never had this sense of dread, I wasn't concerned, it was rather routine for me. We got to the operating room and the doctor was standing in the door and said Hi Del, I said Hi Frank."

Also a friend who Record has played golf with over the years, interventional cardiologist Dr. Frank Fedele inserted two stents through Record's femoral artery. A stent, used to open an artery during angioplasty, is a small, mesh-like device made of metal that acts as a support within a vessel. The process was fairly low-key, Record explained, as he said he returned to work in less than two weeks. Besides working ski patrol, Record is certified by Microsoft as a Microsoft Office Master Instructor and trains corporate clients in his Rye school.

"I was pretty quiet for a couple weeks. I just chilled. Within a month, I was active again. I was playing tennis, riding my bike," he said. "That was the surprising thing for why I didn't think it would happen to me. I'm pretty active, I'm reasonably fit, and I'm active year-round."

That's why he didn't pay much attention to his family history, but it's exactly that which doctors credited for Record's heart attack.

"My father had a couple of events during his life and I always attributed his condition to his lifestyle. His early adult lifestyle had heart attack written all over it," he said. "He cleaned up. He was physically fit, good diet, lost some weight. He just didn't start it early enough."

Record is sharing his story in the hope of helping others and urged people to pay attention to lifestyle including diet and exercise, family history, and communication with their primary care physician.

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