Alberto beats the odds

Alberto Bello and his wife, Barbara, were running errands when he suddenly felt excruciating pain in his shoulders and broke out in a severe sweat. Before they made it out of the store, Alberto had to sit down due to chest pains and numbness in his left arm.

His wife, a nurse at Providence Medford Medical Center and familiar with the signs of a heart attack, called 911. Alberto was hooked up to an EKG during the ambulance ride.

As a retired Oregon Institute of Technology professor of Radiology, with a specialty in Cardiovascular Interventional Radiology, Alberto knew his results were not promising. Upon arriving at Providence Medford, the whole STEMI (ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction) team and cardiologist, Paul Gilmore, M.D., were ready for him. Alberto knew this type of heart attack was referred to as the “widow maker” because the survival rate is very low.

To his surprise, one of his former students, Angela Martin, registered radiologic technologist, happened to be working in the Cath Lab that day. Alberto shared that he had the unreal experience of watching the STEMI team work on him. It dawned on him that the expert on cardiovascular interventional radiology was now the patient. “It really is too bad I am retired. This would have been the greatest possible case study I could have brought to the classroom for my students,” Alberto said.

Alberto’s recovery has been great, and he has been able to return to his original lifestyle. “From the STEMI team, to the ICU caregivers, to the doctors, everyone was compassionate, caring and truly eased my way. Even the follow up has been textbook; truly incredible.”

Today, Alberto is back to doing what he loves – running 5K’s, hiking, gardening, working on projects at home and traveling with his wife. Thank you for supporting heart services at Providence Medford Medical Center.