CBS News – Kevin Murray knows the importance of cardiac health firsthand.
The Tampa dad nearly died from an undiagnosed heart condition and needed to undergo emergency bypass surgery in 2003. Murray, now 72, survived the experience, and he said it shaped the rest of his life.
Every year, Murray went for a cardiology check-up. In 2021, he changed doctors. His new cardiologist gave him an advanced scan called a cardiac CT.
The test produces a 3-D image of the heart and arteries, allowing doctors and patients to see any problems clearly.
Murray’s test came back clear, as he’d expected. But he said it made him start thinking about his family.
His parents and grandfather had all been diagnosed with heart disease. His brother Patrick, then 67, had recently begun experiencing fatigue and breathing problems. After several conversations, Murray convinced his younger to get the scan in late 2022.
Patrick’s scan showed “significant blockages” in his arteries, Murray said. He was at high risk for a dangerous cardiac event and needed an immediate open-heart surgery.
The operation resolved Patrick’s symptoms and encouraged Murray’s three other brothers
to get the same test.
“My brothers and I are very grateful that we could avoid a real catastrophe, which is what we were on the brink of,” Murray told CBS News.
A “look inside the heart”
Family history of heart disease is the largest warning sign for a cardiac event, said Dr. Mark Russo, professor and chief of cardiac surgery at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Jersey.
Anyone with multiple instances of heart disease in their family tree should talk to their doctor about how to best monitor their cardiac health, he said.
The Murrays all saw the same cardiologist, Dr. Alberto Morales. He told CBS News he has used Arineta’s SpotLight cardiovascular CT scanner on about 10,000 patients, including the Murrays …
