March 13 2023
Just got this in from 720
year old retired school bus driver Mike Evans. That's Mike on
the left.
A West Virginia radio DJ and former Clay County school bus driver is encouraging people to seek medical advice early for any abnormal symptoms following his near-death experience from heart failure.
Mike Evans, a resident of the community of Duck in Clay County who is now undergoing ongoing treatment for heart failure through the WVU Heart and Vascular Institute, said he waited too long to seek help when he began experiencing shortness of breath and fatigue, and it nearly cost him his life.
Evans said he was never immune to the aches and pains that come with getting older.
“You know who the world’s biggest liar is?” he asked. “It’s the man who said how great the golden years are. He is a liar. I’ve got places that hurt I didn’t even know I had.”
The first time Evans experienced an issue with his heart, however, was approximately six years ago. He went to Braxton County Memorial Hospital with high blood pressure and atrial fibrillation; he was transferred to J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown. An ablation procedure solved the issue at the time.
About two to three years ago, Evans began feeling short of breath and fatigue. He assumed there was a problem with his lungs, but a specialist found nothing wrong, and he was advised to go to a clinic. Based on how he was feeling, Evans made the decision to go to an emergency room instead.
In the waiting room at Charleston Area Medical Center Memorial Hospital’s Emergency Department, someone listened to his heart and opted to keep him near the desk so he could stay under observation.
“I don’t know if I passed out or whatever, but she came out and said, ‘I’m getting the doctor right now.’ The next thing I know, we were in the room, and they were all working with me and trying to put a mask on me. But I couldn’t breathe with that mask and they said they were going to intubate me. I said I don’t care what you do, but I said I can’t breathe,” he said.
Eventually, staff found a mask that worked. Evans does not remember a lot after that, except that a favorite blue shirt had to be cut away. When he came to again, he was told he would likely need a heart transplant. An emergency doctor encouraged him to go to Morgantown, where more advanced treatments are available.
At the WVU Heart and Vascular Institute, specialists advised Evans that he would not need a transplant after all, but installation of a pump or pacemaker remained on the table. Evans’ condition responded well to medications, however, and physicians advised continuing on the drugs rather than going through invasive procedures.
“That was a relief for me,” he said.
The Advanced Heart Failure Program at the WVU Heart and Vascular Institute has rapidly expanded the technology and services available to patients in West Virginia. This includes a Left Ventricular Device (LVAD) Program in 2017 and a heart transplant program in late 2019.
Evans’ story shows that while these are important medical tools for some patients, they are not always necessary.
“I tell patients that we have all these tools at our disposal, but my job and my goal is to keep them away from all the advanced stuff that I possibly can and do everything we can with medications, if possible, or minor procedures. If we don’t have to do an open heart procedure, if we don’t have to do a heart pump or a transplant, then we win. We have those there if those other options don’t work out for us, but those are meant to be our parachute,” said Dr. George Sokos, associate chief of cardiology and director of the Advanced Heart Failure Program, Cardiac Transplant Program and Left Ventricular Assist Device Program at the WVU Heart and Vascular Institute.
Evans said it took time to get the medications adjusted for his needs. He spent a week at home following his release from the hospital before going back to Morgantown for a checkup. As his brother drove him, he noticed a light purplish-color “blotch” in his vision.
“I had no idea (what it was). I didn’t feel bad,” Evans said.
But when Evans was being weighed during his appointment, he fell and hit his head and ended up readmitted to the hospital, where he ultimately underwent a procedure to install a CardioMEMS device. A CardioMEMS is a heart failure remote monitoring system that gives insight into the amount of fluid around the heart and provides an early alert even before onset of symptoms if a patient’s condition worsens.
Through even a weak Wi-Fi or cellular data connection, the device alerts his medical team so treatments can be adjusted and a medical issue can potentially be resolved before the patient requires hospitalization.
Since then, Evans said his condition has been successfully managed with the medications. He was told his heart had been pumping blood at 21%. Now it is up to 49%, he said. Evans can now take walks and continue his volunteer service delivering food to veterans and other members of the community. And he can go listen to live music and enjoy a night of dancing with his girlfriend again.
“In the three hours, every belt buckle-polishing song that they play, we dance. If it’s 15 of them, then we dance to 15 different songs, and I’m not tired or anything,” he said.
Another big thing for Evans was restoring his ability to drive, as his parents’ love of driving was passed on to him. He has worked in a lot of trades over his 72 years of life, but spent a great deal of his time behind a wheel, including some time driving a tractor-trailer and 22 years driving a Clay County school bus.
“I could drive forever. I love to drive, and I don’t get tired,” he said.
Evans has also been able to continue his radio show on station WYAP, playing classic country and rock, blues and southern gospel with an old friend from his bus driving days. The show, “Steve and Mike in the A.M.,” is on each Wednesday at 9 a.m. “sharpish,” according to the station website.
People stream the show and listen from all over the world, Evans said.
“It’s a blast,” he said. “... Steve and I, we’re both on there, and we’re just two old country boys and we just sit and talk about this, that and the other. ... It’s a lot of fun and something that you can look forward to.”
Evans said while he should have sought treatment sooner at the first sign of symptoms, his story is proof that positive outcomes are possible for people with heart failure.
“I want people to not be afraid. The first signs that you get, go to a hospital. Don’t just sit there and say, ‘Well, I’ll feel better in a bit.’ Go check out and find out what’s wrong with you. Don’t put it off, because if I had gone to the doctor two weeks sooner ... I probably wouldn’t have went through what I went through, passing out and almost dying,” Evans said.
Sokos agreed that getting to a physician early is important.
“The earlier someone gets to us, the better chance we have of being successful with medications and there’s a chance for recovery. Heart function can even come back to normal,” Sokos said.
The term “heart failure” sounds ominous, but it is something that can now be treated effectively, Sokos said. He prefers to instead call it “myocardial recovery,” meaning “recovery of heart function.”
Evans said staff from the Heart and Vascular Institute now call him every Friday to review his numbers with him, reassure him and encourage him to continue positive habits.
Although good food, particularly Texas Roadhouse, can be hard to resist at times, Evans said he tries his best to follow doctors’ orders.
“If anybody asks about a hospital or where they’re going to go, I say, ‘Go to WVU.’ People talk about going to Duke or whatever, and I don’t have anything wrong with Duke or Cleveland Clinic or Johns Hopkins. ... I don’t have a problem with them, but these people here ... everyone from housekeeping to the most important person that I’ve ever talked to here has always been nice to me. They make you feel like you are family,” Evans said.
The Heart and Vascular Institute staff also have confidence in their diagnoses and treatment recommendations, which has been reassuring for Evans.
Symptoms of heart failure are varied, but can include fatigue and weakness; shortness of breath; swelling in the legs, ankles and feet; and loss of appetite. Symptoms of a heart attack can include chest pain or discomfort; shortness of breath; pain or discomfort in the jaw, neck, back, arm or shoulder; and feeling nauseous, light-headed or unusually tired, according to the CDC.
A West Virginia radio DJ and former Clay County school bus driver is encouraging people to seek medical advice early for any abnormal symptoms following his near-death experience from heart failure.
Mike Evans, a resident of the community of Duck in Clay County who is now undergoing ongoing treatment for heart failure through the WVU Heart and Vascular Institute, said he waited too long to seek help when he began experiencing shortness of breath and fatigue, and it nearly cost him his life.
Evans said he was never immune to the aches and pains that come with getting older.
“You know who the world’s biggest liar is?” he asked. “It’s the man who said how great the golden years are. He is a liar. I’ve got places that hurt I didn’t even know I had.”
The first time Evans experienced an issue with his heart, however, was approximately six years ago. He went to Braxton County Memorial Hospital with high blood pressure and atrial fibrillation; he was transferred to J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown. An ablation procedure solved the issue at the time.
About two to three years ago, Evans began feeling short of breath and fatigue. He assumed there was a problem with his lungs, but a specialist found nothing wrong, and he was advised to go to a clinic. Based on how he was feeling, Evans made the decision to go to an emergency room instead.
In the waiting room at Charleston Area Medical Center Memorial Hospital’s Emergency Department, someone listened to his heart and opted to keep him near the desk so he could stay under observation.
“I don’t know if I passed out or whatever, but she came out and said, ‘I’m getting the doctor right now.’ The next thing I know, we were in the room, and they were all working with me and trying to put a mask on me. But I couldn’t breathe with that mask and they said they were going to intubate me. I said I don’t care what you do, but I said I can’t breathe,” he said.
Eventually, staff found a mask that worked. Evans does not remember a lot after that, except that a favorite blue shirt had to be cut away. When he came to again, he was told he would likely need a heart transplant. An emergency doctor encouraged him to go to Morgantown, where more advanced treatments are available.
At the WVU Heart and Vascular Institute, specialists advised Evans that he would not need a transplant after all, but installation of a pump or pacemaker remained on the table. Evans’ condition responded well to medications, however, and physicians advised continuing on the drugs rather than going through invasive procedures.
“That was a relief for me,” he said.
The Advanced Heart Failure Program at the WVU Heart and Vascular Institute has rapidly expanded the technology and services available to patients in West Virginia. This includes a Left Ventricular Device (LVAD) Program in 2017 and a heart transplant program in late 2019.
Evans’ story shows that while these are important medical tools for some patients, they are not always necessary.
“I tell patients that we have all these tools at our disposal, but my job and my goal is to keep them away from all the advanced stuff that I possibly can and do everything we can with medications, if possible, or minor procedures. If we don’t have to do an open heart procedure, if we don’t have to do a heart pump or a transplant, then we win. We have those there if those other options don’t work out for us, but those are meant to be our parachute,” said Dr. George Sokos, associate chief of cardiology and director of the Advanced Heart Failure Program, Cardiac Transplant Program and Left Ventricular Assist Device Program at the WVU Heart and Vascular Institute.
Evans said it took time to get the medications adjusted for his needs. He spent a week at home following his release from the hospital before going back to Morgantown for a checkup. As his brother drove him, he noticed a light purplish-color “blotch” in his vision.
“I had no idea (what it was). I didn’t feel bad,” Evans said.
But when Evans was being weighed during his appointment, he fell and hit his head and ended up readmitted to the hospital, where he ultimately underwent a procedure to install a CardioMEMS device. A CardioMEMS is a heart failure remote monitoring system that gives insight into the amount of fluid around the heart and provides an early alert even before onset of symptoms if a patient’s condition worsens.
Through even a weak Wi-Fi or cellular data connection, the device alerts his medical team so treatments can be adjusted and a medical issue can potentially be resolved before the patient requires hospitalization.
Since then, Evans said his condition has been successfully managed with the medications. He was told his heart had been pumping blood at 21%. Now it is up to 49%, he said. Evans can now take walks and continue his volunteer service delivering food to veterans and other members of the community. And he can go listen to live music and enjoy a night of dancing with his girlfriend again.
“In the three hours, every belt buckle-polishing song that they play, we dance. If it’s 15 of them, then we dance to 15 different songs, and I’m not tired or anything,” he said.
Another big thing for Evans was restoring his ability to drive, as his parents’ love of driving was passed on to him. He has worked in a lot of trades over his 72 years of life, but spent a great deal of his time behind a wheel, including some time driving a tractor-trailer and 22 years driving a Clay County school bus.
“I could drive forever. I love to drive, and I don’t get tired,” he said.
Evans has also been able to continue his radio show on station WYAP, playing classic country and rock, blues and southern gospel with an old friend from his bus driving days. The show, “Steve and Mike in the A.M.,” is on each Wednesday at 9 a.m. “sharpish,” according to the station website.
People stream the show and listen from all over the world, Evans said.
“It’s a blast,” he said. “... Steve and I, we’re both on there, and we’re just two old country boys and we just sit and talk about this, that and the other. ... It’s a lot of fun and something that you can look forward to.”
Evans said while he should have sought treatment sooner at the first sign of symptoms, his story is proof that positive outcomes are possible for people with heart failure.
“I want people to not be afraid. The first signs that you get, go to a hospital. Don’t just sit there and say, ‘Well, I’ll feel better in a bit.’ Go check out and find out what’s wrong with you. Don’t put it off, because if I had gone to the doctor two weeks sooner ... I probably wouldn’t have went through what I went through, passing out and almost dying,” Evans said.
Sokos agreed that getting to a physician early is important.
“The earlier someone gets to us, the better chance we have of being successful with medications and there’s a chance for recovery. Heart function can even come back to normal,” Sokos said.
The term “heart failure” sounds ominous, but it is something that can now be treated effectively, Sokos said. He prefers to instead call it “myocardial recovery,” meaning “recovery of heart function.”
Evans said staff from the Heart and Vascular Institute now call him every Friday to review his numbers with him, reassure him and encourage him to continue positive habits.
Although good food, particularly Texas Roadhouse, can be hard to resist at times, Evans said he tries his best to follow doctors’ orders.
“If anybody asks about a hospital or where they’re going to go, I say, ‘Go to WVU.’ People talk about going to Duke or whatever, and I don’t have anything wrong with Duke or Cleveland Clinic or Johns Hopkins. ... I don’t have a problem with them, but these people here ... everyone from housekeeping to the most important person that I’ve ever talked to here has always been nice to me. They make you feel like you are family,” Evans said.
The Heart and Vascular Institute staff also have confidence in their diagnoses and treatment recommendations, which has been reassuring for Evans.
Symptoms of heart failure are varied, but can include fatigue and weakness; shortness of breath; swelling in the legs, ankles and feet; and loss of appetite. Symptoms of a heart attack can include chest pain or discomfort; shortness of breath; pain or discomfort in the jaw, neck, back, arm or shoulder; and feeling nauseous, light-headed or unusually tired, according to the CDC.