For Leon Mullins, a “widow maker” heart attack would have lived up to its name, if not for a timely visit to Methodist Mansfield Medical Center.
The angina in Leon’s chest one morning in March 2025 began with an intense ache that he treated first with acetaminophen, then ibuprofen, and finally a visit to the ER when the pain became unbearable.
“I’ve heard people describe a heart attack as an elephant sitting on your chest,” says the 68-year-old self-employed business consultant. “I had an elephant growing inside and trying to get out. I couldn’t ignore it.”
It turns out that Leon’s left anterior descending (LAD) artery was completely blocked, causing a heart attack so feared because its survival rate outside a hospital is just 12%. Fortunately, Leon got the care he needed quickly, and his heart attack did not make his wife, Susan, a widow.
“Every nurse, every doctor, every staff member we encountered was not only knowledgeable but also passionate about their work,” she says. “We appreciate all they have done for us.”
Leon and his wife, Susan, walk their “granddogs” Pepper and Emma through downtown Mansfield.
TO THE CATH LAB, STAT
That morning in March, when the pain in his chest reached an eight out of 10, Leon told his wife, and she rushed him to Methodist Mansfield.
Leon was quickly admitted to the emergency department, where the staff ordered an echocardiogram to measure the electrical activity in his heart. An EKG technician quickly took charge, his wife recalls.
“She was extremely efficient, very kind, and she did not linger for one second,” Susan says.
Seconds after the tech saw the results, the room filled with people, and they took Leon on a gurney to the cardiac catheterization lab. There a team was waiting led by Viral Lathia, MD, cardiologist on the medical staff at Methodist Mansfield.
“Because there was active damage to the heart going on, we take patients like Leon to the cardiac catheterization lab immediately,” Dr. Lathia says. “Then we can open the blocked artery as soon as possible.”
Dr. Lathia used a balloon catheter to place a stent in Leon’s artery, opening the blockage.
DOOR TO BALLOON TIME
Using a special X-ray called a fluoroscopy, the cath lab team captured images of the major coronary arteries and pinpointed the obstruction. They gave Leon blood thinners and quickly prepared him for a minimally invasive angioplasty procedure.
Dr. Lathia first threaded a catheter from Leon’s right wrist up through an artery to reach the blockage and inflated a balloon to clear it. Then, he implanted a cobalt chromium stent to keep the artery open.
Leon was awake during all of this and says the pain started going away as soon as Dr. Lathia placed the stent.
“Within a couple of hours, the pain was completely gone,” he says.
Dr. Lathia says the hospital’s goal is to remove a blockage within 90 minutes of the patient’s arrival, which is often referred to as “door-to-balloon” time. In Leon’s case, Susan estimates that her husband was wheeled into the cath lab about 35 minutes after they entered.
Leon had no history of coronary disease, though he had long taken medication to lower his cholesterol.
“It was a buildup of plaque over time,” Leon says.
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FINDING THE RIGHT SUPPORT
While Leon was being cared for, the chaplain at Methodist Mansfield took Susan to a private area to pray with her, her son and daughter-in-law, and the family’s minister as they arrived.
“He was the nicest, kindest man and asked if there was anything I needed,” she recalls. “We appreciate all they have done for us and have asked for blessings and protection over each of them.”
It was a welcome lifeline for a deeply faithful family who praise God as well as Leon’s caregivers from Methodist Mansfield for saving him. The couple also said the support of their “wonderful church family” at Pleasant Ridge Church of Christ was critical.
“We couldn’t have made it through this without them,” Susan says.
Leon looks forward to spending more time with Susan and their family, including Pepper (left) and Emma.
REST AND RECOVERY
Leon was released from the hospital two days after his treatment and began cardiac rehabilitation exercises to improve his heart and lung functions. Dr. Lathia credits him and Susan for seeking help quickly to spare Leon’s heart from further damage.
“When someone gets chest pain, they should not automatically think heartburn or muscle pain but come to the emergency room as soon as possible,” he says. “Heart attacks can be very hard to detect without doing further tests.”
It’s advice that the semi-retired Leon has lost sleep over, although his recovery does involve a fair amount of rest.
“I feel fine,” he says, “though it’s very easy to take naps.”
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