Cardiology cheers on a local runner with heart

Ann Puetz of North Center is the picture of good health. At age 40 she is a long-distance runner who has gone for 5-mile runs daily for the past five years, comes into SCH for regular exams and has completed eight marathons. 

Despite a weakness for comfort foods and good wine, she is dedicated to her daily cardio training and is confident she’ll never stop. But early this year, just three weeks before she was scheduled to run in the Bayshore Memorial Day Marathon in Traverse City, Wisconsin, Ann’s confidence was shaken.

During an annual check-up, her primary care physician discovered a mild abnormality in her EKG. And with a family history of heart disease and a personal history of borderline-high cholesterol, Ann did not take the findings lightly. Because of the unique amount of strain about to be placed on her heart during the run, she and her doctor agreed that a precautionary stress test would be the best way to determine how well her heart was working and allay her fears.

“I felt fine physically, but I had to double-check that my heart was strong enough for the marathon and that everything was OK,” Ann said.

After completing the stress test, it was clear that not only was Ann’s heart healthy, it performed at a level that Dr. Peter Stecy, a cardiologist at SCH, and hospital staff rarely see from patients.

“Typically patients stay on the treadmill for six to 10 minutes based on their fitness level and age, but Ann didn’t stop for 16 minutes — five minutes longer than we predicted,” Dr. Stecy said. “Five minutes might not seem like a long time to the average person, but since the treadmill is constantly picking up speed and incline, it gets quite challenging after the 12-minute mark.”

Despite Dr. Stecy’s enthusiastic reaction to her test results, Ann personally didn’t feel there was anything extraordinary about her performance, but rather was just relieved to hear that she had nothing to worry about come race day. 

“After seeing the results of my test, they [cardiologists and staff] seemed impressed and were telling me I could finish the marathon in under four hours — 18 minutes faster than my best marathon time,” Ann said. “I told them I wasn’t up for that, but I guess my heart was on race day, because I ended up beating my record by 28 minutes.”

Ann completed the marathon in 3 hours, 49 minutes and qualified for the Boston Marathon, which she will run on July 14.

Although most people do not need to go to the lengths that Ann did to ensure their hearts are healthy, Dr. Stecy felt her case was a good example of how being proactive about preventing heart disease can pay off.

“If patients have concerns about their hearts, it’s not necessary for them to get a stress test on a whim,” Stecy said. “They should just find a physician and talk to them about the appropriate testing and preventative steps.”

This patient case is a great example of how hospital staff not only treat medical conditions with high quality, but have a unique focus on preventative medicine. Congratulations to the Cardiology department, and to Ann, on this success story.