After Heart Attack, Rolla Man Grateful for Care at Phelps Health

Bob Delp did not have what many consider to be the common signs and symptoms of a heart attack.

“No pain in my chest. No pain in my arm,” said Delp, a 62-year-old Rolla, Missouri, resident. “I felt nauseous occasionally for about a week before it happened, but it would clear up right away, so I didn't think anything of it.”

What Delp thought was congestion in his lungs or a stomach bug turned out to be a heart attack that likely occurred while he was driving one day and passed out.

“All of a sudden, everything just went dark,” he said. “I remember trying to get my vehicle into park. I came back to again, mid-crash, just as I was crashing into a home. Luckily, I didn't hurt anybody or myself.”

After the accident, Delp said he still could not believe that he had a heart attack until emergency medical technicians (EMTs) gave Delp an electrocardiogram (EKG) test, which measures electrical signals in a person’s heart.

Delp went to the Phelps Health Emergency Department and was immediately transferred to the cardiac catheterization lab.

Heart attacks occur when there is a complete or partial blockage of blood flow to the heart muscle. In Delp’s case, he had 100% blockage in one of his arteries.

In the cardiac cath lab, an interventional cardiologist with Phelps Health, placed stents in Delp’s arteries.

Stents are small, wire mesh tubes that can be placed in a person’s artery to keep them open. If the arteries are opened in a timely manner, heart damage can be avoided.

Delp said he remembers one of the cardiac cath lab nurses was especially helpful.

“As soon as I arrived, she [nurse] told me to hang on and that things were going to happen really fast,” Delp recalled. “She let my wife know what was going on. She was exceptional with her care.”

Before the heart attack, Delp said he had no prior problems with his heart health.

“I have had regular health check-ups the last couple of years, and [my doctor and] I saw no indication of high cholesterol or things like that,” Delp said.

As for any family history of heart disease, Delp said his father died of congestive heart failure.

Delp recommends that people watch for signs of heart conditions and talk to their doctor or healthcare provider about heart disease.

“If you have a history of heart problems, or if you think you do, I couldn't recommend more strongly than coming right here [to Phelps Health] in Rolla,” he said.