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From Trip Hedrick, as Jenny McQueen was told
One day in 2000, at the age of 46, I was in the pool doing a hard set when a crash of chest pain and radiating pain in my arm stopped me from getting cold. I’ve been swimming for most of my life – I’ve been a member of US Masters Swimming for more than 40 years and participated in national and world championships – so I’m no stranger to pain. It felt different, but I assumed it was asthma or I was straining my triceps.
The discomfort calmed down and I finished the rest of the workout. But when the pain returned 2 days later, I immediately called my doctor and went for a treadmill stress test. I have been doing stress tests periodically since the mid-80s; after witnessing the ultimate fatal heart events of many healthy and active swimmers, I wanted to be vigilant.
I passed the test “with good results”, but only 2 weeks later I found myself at Mercy Hospital in Des Moines. I had a heart attack.
The cardiologist told me that I had coronary artery disease (CAD) and that the left anterior descending artery (LAD) in my heart was 99% blocked. I was rushed to critical care, then to a cardiac catheterization lab so I could place a stent to open the blocked artery.
I have always bragged to my inactive friends that I would be the one to avoid heart problems. I was so wrong.
In 2008 I had another heart attack in the middle of swimming. Doctors found another LAD blockage that required a second stent. Then, in 2015, the angiogram showed a large blockage in the first diagonal branch of the LAD and I received my third stent.
From Rehab to New Records
I completed cardiac rehabilitation after my first heart attack and returned after placing my third stent. In both cases, I was sure that my physical rehabilitation would be quite easy and not as challenging as my mental rehabilitation. So I started visiting a mental health professional in addition to participating in an exercise program designed to help me regain strength and prevent my condition from deteriorating.
My psychological needs and problems were rapidly accumulating. I was stressed by both my own self-management and my job as head coach of men’s swimming at Iowa State University, and later as head of my own swimming school (cycloneswimschool.com). I was worried about losing my competitive advantage. I was also worried about how my heart problems affected my wife. She has always been a constant source of confidence and calm, but I did not want to burden her.
The consultations helped significantly, as did the physical rehabilitation. I had a great return to the pool in 2016, swimming at a high competitive level for my age group. In 2017, I set another world record in the age group of 50 meters butterfly.
Despite maintaining a high level of fitness, my struggle with CAD continued and I needed a double bypass in 2018. Before going for the procedure, I contacted four highly athletic friends who had undergone heart surgery. It was one of the best things I could do to be mentally prepared for it.
Being in great shape during the operation also helped. I’ve just started to reduce – which means to reduce training – to prepare for a big Masters swimming competition. My main strength and capacity of my lungs accelerated my recovery. I achieved the goal after the operation to set another world record in the 50 meters butterfly for the age group 65-69 in August 2021.
Full life with CAD
If there’s one thing I’ve learned through my bypass surgery and CAD travel, it’s the incredible resilience of the human body and how quickly it can heal.
During these 20+ years, one of the keys to thriving on CAD was to visit my cardiologist every year without delay. I learned to listen to my body better. If I ever have the subtlest feeling that something is wrong, now I wonder if it could be my heart. Then I act on it.
The only thing that mattered most to me throughout my CAD journey was the support of my 43-year-old wife, L’Louise. I feel that it is vital to have a defender in all situations related to the heart – these are questions of life and death. L’Luise goes with me to every meeting and every test. Sometimes when we get bad news, I withdraw. I rely on L’Louise’s sharp listening skills to catch everything. She always asks questions and insists on answers. And we are still madly in love.
L’Loose and I are retired now. We love the waters of the Mississippi River in Winona, Minnesota, where we first met. We spend as many days as possible of each summer, hanging on a sandy strip in the back waters of the river. We also love living in the bustling university city of Ames, Iowa. We are avid sports fans in Iowa and enjoy the many things that life in the college community has to offer.
My mantra remains: “Overcome perceived limitations.” I always like to believe that I am 100% of what I am capable of doing, even with the compromised heart function for which I am so grateful.
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