Coastal Bend Blood Center kicks off 2026 ‘Find a Hero in YOU’ blood drive<\/a><\/p>\nBut a visit to his cardiologist revealed a dangerous truth hiding inside his heart…one that could have triggered a massive heart attack with little warning.<\/p>\n
Doctors discovered an 80 percent blockage in a major artery supplying the front of Scott\u2019s heart. The artery was clogged with plaque and calcium, restricting blood flow and putting him at serious risk.<\/p>\n
A stent was placed immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat blockage was significant,\u201d said cardiologist Dr. Srikanth Damaragu, who treated Scott. \u201cIt was in a major artery, and it could have caused a large heart attack.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scott admits the diagnosis stunned him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI work out all the time. I take my medicine. I eat right,\u201d Scott said. \u201cAnd it still happened. What we found out is, it\u2019s hereditary.\u201d<\/p>\n
Months earlier, Scott says he began feeling \u201coff.\u201d While on vacation, he developed a severe headache and struggled to remember words, symptoms that raised concern.<\/p>\n
When he called his doctor, the advice was simple and urgent.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s take a look and see if there\u2019s blockage,\u201d Dr. Damaragu told him.<\/p>\n
That decision may have changed everything.<\/p>\n
Doctors say people with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, or a family history of heart disease are at higher risk, even if they appear healthy on the outside.<\/p>\n
Dr. Damaragu recommends at least 150 minutes of exercise per week, such as walking or biking, and limiting processed and ultra-processed foods.<\/p>\n
\u201cFresh ingredients at home are much better if you can do it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Scott says during city council meetings, he often felt drained. Other council members noticed it too. He chalked it up to stress, long hours, and politics.<\/p>\n
Then came the procedure and the difference was immediate.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel better today than I did six months ago,\u201d Scott said. \u201cI didn\u2019t even realize how bad I felt. I probably had this issue for a year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now, doctors say Scott\u2019s heart is strong, the stent is working, and his prognosis is good.<\/p>\n
He\u2019ll soon be back on his bike, logging up to 75 miles a week,\u00a0but with a new message he hopes others take seriously:<\/p>\n
You can do everything \u201cright\u201d and still be at risk.<\/p>\n
And sometimes, the doctor\u2019s appointment you keep putting off is the one that saves your life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Corpus Christi councilman\u2019s doctor’s visit uncovered a silent threat hiding in his chest CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas \u2014…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":117505,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[155,157,156],"class_list":{"0":"post-117504","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-corpus-christi","8":"tag-corpus-christi","9":"tag-corpus-christi-headlines","10":"tag-corpus-christi-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117504","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=117504"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117504\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/117505"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=117504"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=117504"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=117504"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}