KATY, Texas — A Katy man is sharing his story after the Texas heat sent him to the ER – not once, but twice.
At 69-years-old, Enrique Barrientos never had any heart problems.
“In my family, we have had other problems, but not a heart attack," Barrientos said.
Until this past April, Enrique was working out in his yard raking leaves for about an hour and a half. When he came inside, he knew something was wrong.
“I felt totally tired, exhausted, without energy," Barrientos said.
He also had a pain in his chest.
“The following day, the pain in my chest came back several times," Barrientos said.
So he went to the hospital and his cardiologist, Dr. Wafi Momin with Memorial Hermann and UTHealth Houston, told Enrique he had a heart attack.
“The problem was, basically, two arteries that were blocked," Barrientos said.
“If you have underlying heart disease, plaque buildup, if you’re out in the heat and you become dehydrated, your heart has to work that much harder," Dr. Momin explained.
The cardiologist adjusted Enrique's medication, and put three stents into his artery. Three weeks later, Enrique was feeling much better.
“I was believing that I was strong enough, and I decided to do more work in my yard," Barrientos said.
He was out in the yard, this time, for only 10 minutes.
“I was totally tired, exhausted, so I decided to stop the job and came into the house. When I was here in the house, I passed out," Barrientos said.
His wife took him back to the hospital where Dr. Momin told Enrique the blood pressure medicine he was on made him more susceptible to the heat.
“Having a heart attack, or congestive heart failure doesn’t really keep you indoors 24 hours a day, but you need to make adjustments when you go outside," Dr. Momin said.
Today, Enrique leaves the yard work to his gardener. He knows his limits and hopes everyone else, does too.
“In very hot weather, in very high temperatures, please pay attention to the symptoms of your body," Barrientos advises.
And check with your doctor to find out if any medications you take can cause issues in the heat.