“Listen to your wife,” urges Wally Cason, 77, of Tupelo.

A retired pastor and missionary, Wally teaches Sunday School at Wesley United Methodist Church in Tupelo. When class member David Hutson, a CT (computed tomography) technologist with Cardiology Associates of North Mississippi, suggested he take advantage of a February 2023 discounted offer for heart risk screening, his wife Marge inserted an enthusiastic “Yes!”

When his screening results were sub-par, Wally was scheduled for a nuclear stress test, which uses medication to increase blood flow and stress the heart like exercise does.

When he failed that test too, Wally underwent cardiac catheterization at North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo. Cardiac catheterization reveals key details about the heart muscle, heart valves and blood vessels in the heart.

During the procedure, cardiologist Dr. Joseph Adams discovered three arteries to Wally’s heart were almost completely blocked. “I had no symptoms at all,” Wally says. “It was a total surprise. I didn’t know my heart was giving me trouble.”

On March 30 of last year, cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. Evan Garner performed coronary artery bypass surgery to create a new path for blood to flow around the blocked arteries.

Shortly after surgery, the Cardiac Rehabilitation team at North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo had Wally walking in the hallways and working toward improvement. Once home and able, he began the second phase of NMMC’s Cardiac Rehabilitation program. For 12 weeks, he enjoyed participating in hour-long, supervised exercise sessions three days each week.

An important part of Cardiac Rehabilitation is improving habits to prevent future heart problems. “Before, I ate junk food and didn’t sleep well because of sleep apnea. If somebody had warned me this could happen, I ignored it,” Wally says. “Now, I’m watching what I eat and trying to be a good boy.”

It is important to note that Marge took her own advice and had a heart screening done as well. After all, he says, “she’s my better half.”

Wally Cason's wife scheduled him for a preventive heart screening that likely saved his life.