Heart disease, often called the "silent killer," can lurk undetected for years, quietly wreaking havoc on the body before symptoms even surface. For many, the first sign of trouble comes only after a major heart event—like a heart attack—strikes. But how much of our heart health is determined by our DNA? For the Mogck family of Tripp, SD, it was their parents' medical history that was the small clue to an otherwise hidden danger.
Family History of Heart Disease
“Moving calves physically, you know, as far as my health, I thought I was feeling fine other than maybe shortness of breath every now and then,” said Brian Mogck.
Raising cattle has run in the Mogck family for generations, but that's not the only thing.
“My dad had a heart attack and bypass surgery in his mid-50s. So with the history of my family and at my age, too, I'm getting in my upper 60s. I thought, you know, maybe now's the time,” said David Mogck.
Being the older Mogck brother, David was the first to schedule a Planet Heart screen, and his results quickly justified the visit.
"You could just see on the nurse's face. I told my wife before I found out that I don't have a good feeling about this and then they told me what the results were and I had real high calcium levels,” said David Mogck.
“Planet Heart is helpful because it really helps us define risk, right? It's not going to tell us necessarily how bad of a blockage do you have and where is it? It helps us know what is your risk over the next 10 years of having, a heart attack or a stroke and things like that, and what can we do to prevent that?” said John Wagener, MD, FACC, FSCAI an interventional cardiologist at the Avera Heart Hospital.
David's calcium score pointed to further testing, so an angiogram was ordered to check for a possible blockage.
"(He said) if you do have a problem and we can fix it, we'll can do a stint, we will do that right away. Well, as quick as that seemed that went, I thought, this probably didn't go good, and then my wife told me, yeah, you're going to need triple bypass," said David Mogck.
“When they find disease in all three of the main arteries, stenting is certainly an option. Medical treatment is an option, but if you have disease in all three of your arteries, then bypass surgery is certainly a good option, and so we ended up doing a triple bypass on him,” said Tommy Reynolds, MD, FACS a cardiothoracic surgeon at the Avera Heart Hospital.
Catching the problem before an emergency means a less challenging road to recovery, and David was giving Brian the Planet Heart pitch before he even left the hospital.
“I just told him, I said, "You need to get checked," and he did!” said David.
“I eventually got checked out and I went to Planet Heart,” said Brian.
“I found out he had a higher calcium score than I had!” said David.
“So when they saw that, then they started doing more testing, I was kind of stunned that it was going to be triple bypass,” said Brian.
“These guys were the two healthiest guys we have in Tripp, and they both had bypass surgery, so genetics plays a big part of it,” said Dr. Reynolds.
“If your father or mother have had it, you may have it too, so absolutely, you need to get checked out about it,” said Brian Mogck.
After having the same surgery, five months apart, David and Brian are on the mend, and hope their example shows just how sneaky heart disease can be. They're lucky they're both back doing what they love. And for David, he has a little extra leverage against his younger brother, what with helping save his life and all.
“I am going to definitely hold that one on him, because he really, I think he questioned whether he should do it, but I pushed pretty hard!” laughed David Mogck.
“I’m living life, living life, you know, doing what I had been doing. I don't want to change, you know, raising cattle and seeing the grandkids and all that. That's what life's all about,” said Brian Mogck.
Planet Heart is recommended for men over the age of 40 and women over the age of 45, but if you have a family history, it’s possible to start sooner.
Take the Next Step Toward Heart Health
