Archbold Medical Center| Archives Magazine | Spring 2018

4 ARCHBOLD MEDICAL CENTER HEART DISEASE is the leading cause of death in Georgia, accounting for one-third of all deaths in the state. Many South Georgia counties rank among those in Georgia with the highest heart disease-related mortality. In Thomas County, it’s estimated that more than 30 percent of deaths are related to major cardiovascular diseases. Archbold’s Loudermilk Heart and Vascular Center is trying to help curb these statistics by providing the most current lifesaving interventional cardi- ology procedures, including coronary angioplasty and stent placement. Thousands of lives have been saved at the Loudermilk Heart and Vascular Center since Archbold began offering interventional cardiology procedures in Thomasville in 2007. Thomasville native and Cone Machinery owner David Cone is one of them. On the day Hurricane Irma hit South Georgia, Cone woke up early in the morning with pain and tightness in his chest. “I had tightness in my chest for three to four days in a row and had just assumed it was a pulled muscle,” said Cone. “I woke my wife up and told her we needed to get to the emergency depart- ment just as a precaution,” said Cone. “I could tell something was wrong, but I never thought it was something serious. I wasn’t showing the typical signs of a heart attack.” Though signs of heart attack can vary, people tend to experience pain in their chest, jaw, left arm or upper abdomen, along with dizziness, fatigue, clammy skin, cold sweat and lightheadedness. Know your family health history Heart disease is hereditary. So if some- one in your family has had a heart attack, you are at a greater risk, as well. “Heart problems run in my family,” said Cone. “My dad passed away at age 49 from a heart attack, and so did my uncle at the age of 42. I have always tried to stay on top of my health, which is why I decided to come to the hospital when I Lifesavingcardiology in your backyard Clay Sizemore, MD, (left) performed the procedure that saved David Cone’s life.