Pete Dubois was out riding his bicycle in the spring of 2016, one of his favorite hobbies, when he started feeling bad.
“I felt so awful I ended up going to the hospital,” said Dubois. “Over the next few months, I had several stents put in and then underwent an open heart procedure.”
In the years following, Dubois had numerous heart catheterizations and still experienced chest pain. He was constantly tired and unable to do any of the things he enjoyed doing.
“I was a cross-country runner, a bicyclist and a mountain climber and heart disease took all of those things away from me,” said Dubois. “I really thought I would never feel better.”
Soon after Dubois ended up in the hospital again, which led him to receiving care from Dr. Raj Chandwaney, interventional cardiologist at Oklahoma Heart Institute.
“Dr. Chandwaney did another heart cath and discovered that I had chronic total occlusion (CTO) in my coronary artery that had blocked the entire bottom half of my heart,” said Dubois. “I ended up doing a treadmill test and performed terribly. After another heart cath, Dr. Chandwaney determined that he could fix the issue.”
Dubois was very confident with Dr. Chandwaney’s decision.
“A lot had changed since I had open heart surgery at another facility several years ago,” said Dubois. “I had complete trust in Dr. Chandwaney and Oklahoma Heart Institute and I knew that I could get through this and come out on the other side.”
Dr. Chandwaney was able to repair the CTO in Dubois’ heart and he is no longer experiencing daily chest pain.
“I feel like I have been able to get back some of the life that I lost since being diagnosed with heart disease,” said Dubois. “That means more to me than I could ever explain.”
Dubois, who recently turned 57, has profound gratitude for everyone that has been involved with his care at Oklahoma Heart Institute.
“I want to send a sincere thanks to everyone,” said Dubois. “They are all so kind and they made me feel at ease during a scary situation. They truly gave me a new lease on life and I don’t think it gets any better than that. I really feel like a new man. I lost 10 pounds, my family tells me I look better and I have color back in my face. I have been working on some carpentry projects around the house and I hope to get back running, cycling and climbing.”
Dubois continues to see Dr. Chandwaney and his team for cardiovascular care and will soon begin cardiac rehab.