Heart to Heart

To Participate

Dr. McNeal and her team are looking for subjects for the research study. To be eligible for the study, children must be 10 to 18 years of age and have high cholesterol. The subjects are given either a cholesterol-lowering medication or a placebo (a pill that resembles the actual medication but does not contain any cholesterol-fighting agents) and are evaluated in nine visits over a period of 15 months. Anyone interested in learning more can call Lydia Clipper at 254-724-6750, or can e-mail lclipper@swmail.sw.org.

For Dianne Henderson and her son, Jeffrey, of Chilton, the day started out like any other, filled with school, work and errands. But it took a serious turn that would change their lives and put the 14-year-old seventh grader on an entirely new path to the future.

While Jeffrey and his mother were running errands, Mrs. Henderson began to feel short of breath and quickly realized something was wrong. Jeffrey didn’t recognize what was happening, but he knew that she needed help and needed it fast.

"It was very scary because I just didn’t know what was happening to her," Jeffrey said. "She couldn’t breathe and couldn’t really stand up very well, and I don’t think either of us knew what was going on. I stayed with her and tried to do what I could. Then I rode with her to the ER, and we found out she’d had a heart attack. It was a very scary thing."

"Jeffrey was with me when I had my heart attack, and he was pretty shaken up," said Mrs. Henderson. "He was great, though. He stayed with me, went to the ER with me and even called my mom to tell her what had happened. But I know it was a scary experience for him to have to go through."

Following her heart attack, Mrs. Henderson underwent several heart procedures and eventually had surgery. Soon after, she saw a notice at the Scott & White Clinic in Hewitt about a program designed to treat children who are at risk for heart disease. Mrs. Henderson called and signed Jeffrey up to be evaluated. "With my problems and the heart problems that run in my family, I realized I needed to try and do something now for Jeffrey. I don’t want him to go through the same kinds of problems I have."

Jeffrey and his mom soon met with Catherine McNeal, M.D., at Scott & White’s Children’s Cardiovascular Health Clinic (CCHC), which was created to diagnose and treat children who are at high risk for cardiovascular disease. "I felt very at ease when I first met Dr. McNeal because she was very honest with us," Mrs. Henderson said. "She knew Jeffrey was at risk for developing cardiovascular disease for several reasons, and she asked if we would participate in a study she was doing at Scott & White. I felt like it was a good study and a good chance to not only help Jeffrey, but others as well."

Jeffrey is now part of a study conducted by the CCHC to find new ways to diagnose and treat patients who are at high risk either because of a family history of heart disease or because of a combination of other risk factors such as diabetes, hypertension or obesity. Now, just months after joining the study, Jeffrey is progressing very well and is already noticing changes. "I had to really change my diet when I started this, and I have been watching what I eat. So far everything has been okay," he said.

While Mrs. Henderson is confident that the study will improve Jeffrey’s health now, she is also hopeful that this experience will create a new future for him. "Jeffrey was there and had to watch me go through all of this, and I don’t want that to happen to his family," she said. "I want him to understand that what he does now will affect him later."

And Jeffrey knows the contributions he is making now will affect countless lives in the future. "Dr. McNeal told me about what the study was about and how she would be learning new things that could help other kids in the future. I figured it would be okay to do it because I thought I would be helping other kids while helping myself," he said.

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