MILWAUKEE — CORRECTION: This story initially described Aurora's aortic surveillance program as the only one in Wisconsin. UW Health, as well as, Froedtert and the Medical College of Wisconsin also have aortic surveillance programs. The article has been corrected.
Sam Goodpasture has come a long way since last summer.
Last year, he was driving to a work meeting when he suddenly felt dizzy and his heart rate sped up.
"I don’t know what a heart attack feels like, but I thought I should just pull over and call 911," Goodpasture said.
It sparked a series of doctor visits and tests.
"That’s when they found the aneurysm," Goodpasture explained.
Goodpasture, 35, felt relatively healthy up to that point. He enjoys cycling outdoors, hiking, and spending time with his wife and their dog.
Goodpasture was stunned to find out he had a large aortic aneurysm, a bulge in a major artery. It prompted a complex surgery to repair it before it became an emergency.
"As soon as I heard, open-heart surgery, you know I wasn’t concentrating the rest of the day at work. That’s all I could think about," Goodpasture recalled.
"Once an aortic aneurysm, becomes an emergency like a dissection or rupture, then the risk of dying from that is much higher than if you operate on it electively," Dr. Eric Weiss said.
Dr. Weiss is a heart surgeon at Aurora St. Luke's Medical Center in Milwaukee.
He leads their aortic surveillance program. Dr. Weiss says these conditions are still rare but can show up in any age group. General heart scans or other screenings can help catch it.
"His sort of uneasy, feeling that he experienced, was what allowed us to identify the aneurysm in the first place. That’s the thing about aortic aneurysms - they often don’t have any symptoms," Dr. Weiss explained.
Goodpasture's operation was a success. Recovery took a couple of months.
Goodpasture will continue to be part of the aortic surveillance program to monitor his progress. He and Dr. Weiss hope this story raises awareness about the condition and helps others.
Meanwhile, Goodpasture is back to being active and traveling the world.
"I may not be here so I do appreciate all the things that I got to do in life with my wife a little bit more now," Goodpasture said.
It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.
Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.
