Mike Moon – Heart Attack Success Story
Copy that!
Ovilla’s police chief gets the heart-health message loud and clear
Ovilla Police Chief Mike Moon reflects on Peace Officer Memorial day at
a Waxahachie ceremony honoring local law enforcement heroes. Two heart
catheterization procedures at Methodist Mansfield have made it possible
for him to keep serving his local community. Mike is focusing on prevention
– with Methodist Mansfield as his backup.
The office of Ovilla Police Chief Mike Moon might be more appropriately called the “Moon Museum.” Wherever you look, you get a glimpse of his personality, captured in artwork depicting the Old West, a “donut fund” piggy bank on the desk, photos of his family, and shelves of history books.
“Everything in here was given to me,” Mike says.
Of course, some items were earned, like his diploma from Dallas Baptist University and the certificate from the FBI National Academy.
And then there’s one item that doesn’t fit his personality at all: the desk.
“I was a patrol officer for 26 years and have spent almost 12 years as chief,” Mike says. “The desk drives me nuts.”
Nevertheless, he takes the role he plays at that desk seriously. He also takes his heart health seriously after two heart incidents in as many years.
On a February morning in 2012, Mike started experiencing pressure in his chest and went to Methodist Mansfield Medical Center’s emergency department. He had experienced a mild heart attack.
R&R for the heart
“Chief Moon had an artery that was completely blocked and had been for some time,” says Shoaib Haroon Saya, MD, FACC, FSCAI, interventional cardiologist on the medical staff at Methodist Mansfield. “His heart wasn’t getting enough blood, which causes discomfort, although patients don’t always realize it. They aren’t relaxed because the heart is not relaxed.”
Once Dr. Saya performed a cardiac catheterization procedure and placed four stents to restore blood flow to the heart, Mike realized how it feels to have a heart that isn’t stressed-out.
“I felt like a new man, like someone had set a reset button,” he says. “Dr. Saya was absolutely wonderful. As long as you have questions, he’s there to talk to you — not at you — and make sure they’re answered.”
A heart under arrest?
Mike made lifestyle adjustments, but this past February, chest pain struck again.
“The longer the day went, the worse the pressure got, and the breathing got a little harder,” he says. That evening he went to the Ovilla fire station, and the first responders hooked up a heart monitor. “One of the young ones said, ‘If you were my dad, I’d carry you to the hospital myself.’?”
Mike returned to Methodist Mansfield, and Dr. Saya performed a second round of cardiac catheterization, this time placing three stents. While there had been no heart attack this time around, three arteries had progressed to a dangerous point.
Mike is working closely with Dr. Saya’s team to develop healthy habits that will help prevent further problems down the road. But if something does go wrong, he won’t hesitate to turn to Methodist Mansfield.
“Methodist Mansfield has brought customer service back to the medical field,” he says. “No matter whom I dealt with, I felt like I was the only person in the hospital. I had 100 percent of their attention.”
Hearts on our mind
The new Patient Care Tower Two under construction at Methodist Mansfield will accommodate more cardiac catheterization procedures, stopping heart attacks in their tracks — or even before they start. To learn more about heart care at Methodist Mansfield, visit MethodistHealthSystem.org/MansfieldCardiology.
From the fall 2014 edition of Shine magazine.