by John Reid

Recently, Occoquan District School Board Member Richard Jessie experienced an emergency earlier this week. In a statement released to the PW Perspective, he provided an update on his recovery:

“Hello Everyone,

Lillie and I only informed a few folks that I went to the hospital this week, because of a possible heart attack. I want to share with all of you what has happened.

On Tuesday (July 16^th) evening around 7:00 pm, I asked Lillie to take me to the Sentara Hospital Satellite ER close to our home. I was having tightness in my left chest, sensations in my left arm and my breathing didn’t seem to be normal.

As a few of you know, Lillie had her first heart attack about 20 years ago and has several stents. It just happened that Lillie’s Cardiologist, who we have confidence in, was the Cardiologist for rounds that day. He said the blood tests confirmed that I had an extremely mild heart attack, and the main concern was that I had a rapid heart rate. According to Cardiologist, the best outcome would be if the Echocardiogram test determined if my heart was in good shape and a Cardiac catheterization test determined I didn’t have any clogged arteries.

I’m very pleased to tell you that the Echocardiogram test verified that my heart is very healthy, and the Cardiac catheterization test confirmed that I don’t have any clogged arteries. The doctor who performed the surgery told me that my arteries are as good as most 39-year-olds (I wish the rest of my body would be that good)!

Based on these tests, I was released from the hospital around 2:00 pm on Thursday and have an appointment with Lillie’s Cardiologist on Wednesday, July 24^th. I feel fine and I am hoping that with the advice and help of the Cardiologist, we can determine why my heart started beating rapidly and how to prevent it in the future.”