7 Healthcast: 'Widow Maker' heart attack survivor

Scott McCallister, 63, was out for one his normal runs along the water when he started feeling anything but normal.

“I started feeling very tired,” said McCallister. “I had no chest pains I just was feeling very tired.”

Scott wasn’t showing the typical signs of a heart attack, but that's exactly what was happening. He was rushed to the nearby North Shore Medical Center, home to the only comprehensive heart center on the north shore.

Doctors were awaiting his arrival and learned immediately from high-tech images exactly what was causing the problem - plaque.

“Plaque ruptured and caused a complete blockage of the arteries and there was no blood flow into the arteries and their branches that feed the heart,” said Dr. Howard Waldman.

They were able to quickly clear the blockage.

“We were able to re-establish blood flow through the main artery, which essentially saved his heart,” said Waldman.

“When I asked Dr. Waldman about it being a widow maker, he said, ‘No, you had much worse than a widow maker. Less than five percent of people survive what you had,’” said McCallister.

But Scott survived and is back to leading a normal, active lifestyle.

“I feel as good as I’ve ever felt, I can’t quite run as fast as I was running prior to the heart attack, but you know that’s a small price to pay,” said McCallister. “I feel that I was blessed, I was one of those people that was given another chance to live.”

The doctors were thankful too.

“It’s a wonderful thing to be able to save a life and it’s wonderful to apply the technology we have available to us in an effort like this and a patient who was severely ill with such a wonderful outcome,” said Waldman.

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