Howard DeLong was 51 in 1978, when he experienced the first of his four heart attacks. Residing with his wife, Geri, in Topeka, Kansas at the time, he underwent a quadruple-bypass surgery and started making changes for a healthy lifestyle. Howard's mother, father, three sisters and brother had all required heart surgery prior to Howard's heart attack. He also had risk factors such as high cholesterol and high blood pressure. After his surgery, Howard and Geri decided to change their exercise and eating habits. Howard retired, and though he was on his way to a healthier lifestyle, his next heart attack came in 1990, while he and Geri were traveling to the Indianapolis 500. They stopped at a small hospital near Columbia, Missouri, when Howard complained of shoulder pains. Nine days later, Howard returned to Topeka a survivor of another heart attack and a triple-bypass surgery.

When the couple decided to move to Omaha, Howard's doctor required him to find a place for his rehabilitation. That's when he found the Creighton Cardiac Center's Rehabilitation Program. He and Geri moved to Omaha, and Howard began exercising regularly at The Cardiac Center. Geri joined him in his exercises as part of a prevention program, which Howard says was very motivating for him. But to the DeLongs' surprise, Howard had yet another heart attack in 1995. This time he felt shoulder pains while attending a church in LaVista. He wanted to go to Creighton University Medical Center, so Geri and a fellow parishioner, who happened to be a nurse, rushed him to the emergency room. Two days later, while visiting her husband in the hospital, Geri was taken to the emergency room because she was suffering from pains. Doctors determined that she had experienced a stress-related heart attack, which luckily left no damage to her heart. The reality of heart disease finally struck home with Howard now that Geri was affected, too.

Then in May 2000, Howard was painting his daughter's house in LaVista when he suffered from a cardiac arrest. Howard was on a ladder, 12 feet in the air, and somehow managed to fall in through the bedroom window rather than off the ladder. As his son-in-law tried CPR, paramedics were called and arrived almost immediately. They found a faint pulse and rushed Howard to a local hospital, where he was in a coma for three days. He was released nine days later. This was the last of the frightening heart events suffered by the DeLongs.

Today, Howard and Geri continue in the recovery process with support from each other as well as from their three daughters. "Two of our daughters have high cholesterol and have taken the initiative to seek advice on diet, exercise and drug therapy," says Howard. "We have grown stronger as a family because of this. It truly does make the heart grow fonder!"

Howard and Geri are two of over 12 million people who are alive today after having a history of a heart attack, angina pectoris (chest pain), or both. The DeLongs came to Creighton University Medical Center and The Cardiac Center of Creighton University with what is called "coronary heart disease." Coronary heart disease is a cardiovascular disease that caused 466,101 deaths in 1997 and is the single leading cause of death in America today. This year an estimated 1.1 million Americans will have a new or recurrent coronary attack and more than 40 percent of the people experiencing these attacks will die from them.

Coronary heart disease is just one type of cardiovascular disease that can be treated and prevented. Other forms of cardiovascular disease include high blood pressure, stroke, and rheumatic fever/rheumatic heart disease. According to 1997 estimates from the American Heart Association, 59.7 million Americans have one or more forms of cardiovascular disease, and over 41 percent of all deaths are contributed to those diseases.

The Cardiac Center of Creighton University and Creighton University Medical Center offer patients a wide range of preventative, diagnostic, treatment and rehabilitation services in both inpatient and outpatient settings. Their focus on research and education integrates leading-edge medicine and technology with a continuum of care. Some of the benefits of this Cardiology Program include: nutrition education, a course in stress management and smoking cessation classes, exercise programs, massage therapy, some of the latest diagnostic services available and advanced treatment services. Partners in Cardiology (PIC) is a cardiovascular disease prevention program that is offered through the Cardiac Center of Creighton University. It is based on the reduction of risk factors including high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, smoking, physical inactivity, and obesity.

The assistance provided by the Creighton Cardiac Rehabilitation Center's programs don't stop at Omaha's city limits. For almost 30 years, their outreach program has brought cardiovascular care to rural communities in Iowa and Nebraska. Working closely with local family physicians, Creighton cardiologists are able to provide specialty care in the convenience of a local setting.

Geri DeLong says, "The Cardiac Center of Creighton University and Creighton University Medical Center are good for everyone but they're especially good for people like us. We're not the kind of people who would exercise on our own. This program gets us out to exercise. People are responsible for you—they'll call to say they missed us if we don't go to a session," says Geri. Howard agrees, "They seem like they care for you. They know what to do and they'll do it. In fact, it's just another family," he says. "They take your blood pressure before and after you exercise. If you need to be monitored, you are," says Geri. "I also like knowing that the doctors are downstairs and the hospital is right across the street."

Howard and Geri continue their rehabilitation exercises three times a week at The Cardiac Center with high-spirits. While they have adjusted their diet to eating fewer fried and fatty foods, Geri jokes that Howard still likes his oleo, especially on baked potatoes. Howard replies, "It's hard to give everything up!"

For more information about Creighton University Medical Center's Cardiology Program or The Cardiac Center of Creighton University, call 449-5000 or 280-4566.