Annual screening likely saved patient’s life

If not for his primary care physician, Florante Baluyot might not still be alive.

Kathy Nguyen, MD, Optum – South Lake Clinic in Clermont, Florida, saw Florante for the first time in 2022 when he came in for his annual checkup. At 74, Florante stayed active, playing pickleball daily and tending to his garden, but Dr. Nguyen decided he should have an EKG, just to be on the safe side.

“Mr. Baluyot hadn’t mentioned chest pain or other symptoms, but he was on many medications and hadn’t had an EKG in a long time,” Dr. Nguyen said.

It was a good call – the EKG showed an abnormality.

Unknown to Dr. Nguyen, Florante had experienced some shortness of breath while playing pickleball, but it always went away and, as his wife said, he wasn’t one to complain.

Dr. Nguyen immediately referred Florante to a cardiologist,a full workup, including an echocardiogram and a stress test. Results from one of the tests prompted the cardiac team to refer Florante for an angiogram.

“The angiogram showed 90 to 100 % obstructions in four coronary vessels,” Florante’s wife Mildred Baluyot recalled. “Once the results were in, he wasn’t allowed to go home. They immediately referred him to have bypass surgery.”

The doctor told Florante he would be admitted right away and, because it was Friday, would have surgery Monday morning.

The surgery was long, but Florante came through it well and was moved to a room after a short time in the intensive care unit. The couple’s daughter, a pediatrician who lives in Kansas, joined Mildred in Orlando and they took turns visiting Florante until he was released to go home later in the week.

Recovering from such a surgery takes time, but Florante had lots of help. Starting out with home visits for occupational therapy, Florante also had physical therapy and, a few weeks later, post-cardiac rehabilitation.

“After that he was like his old self,” Mildred said. “He’s not the type to sit down and be quiet and do nothing all day. He is an active guy.”

At first Florante saw Dr. Nguyen every six months, but he’s now back to yearly checkups, though he sees her when he accompanies Mildred to her appointments. The couple is thankful to have her as their PCP.

“We have a good primary care physician, who listens,” Mildred said. “That’s very important. She catches symptoms. Without the bypass surgery, Florante probably would have had a full-blown heart attack.”

Florante is now fully recovered and back to playing pickleball and gardening, though he is more careful about his health.

“He knows he has to be cautious,” Mildred said. “He’ll be 75 soon and he can’t forget what happened to him; he learned from it.”