Page 56 of A Love So Sweet
“Hear me out, please, Savannah.” Ben continued. “Your father had all the symptoms of a heart attack, but I believe he actually suffered from broken heart syndrome.”
“Okay, you know what?” Savannah rose to her feet and headed for the door. “I can’t listen to this nonsense anymore. Treat, get me when…just get me after, okay?”
“I’m sorry, Ben,” Treat said. “She’s apparently had a rough time lately. Please continue.”
“Broken heart syndrome can mirror all the symptoms of a heart attack, from difficulty breathing and chest pain to low blood pressure and even weakening of the heart muscle.”
“That sounds like a heart attack. What’s the difference?” Treat placed his hand over his father’s.
“Well, BHS is also called stress cardiomyopathy, because it’s caused by severe stress, usually emotional—intense fear, anger, surprise. There are two major differences between a heart attack and BHS. The first is that most heart attacks occur due to blockages and blood clots forming in the coronary arteries. If those clots cut off the blood supply to the heart for a long enough time, the heart muscle cells can die, leaving the patient with permanent and irreversible damage. But with BHS, patients have fairly normal coronary arteries, like your father does, without the presence of severe blockage or clots.”
No blockage. No clots. Good arteries.Treat squeezed his father’s hand.
“The second difference,” Ben explained, “is that with stress cardiomyopathy, the heart cells are stunned by the adrenaline and other stress hormones, but not killed as they are with a heart attack. And as I’m certain we’ll find with your father, that stunned effect gets better very quickly, often within just a few short days. So even if a patient suffers heart muscle weakness at the time of the event, the heart completely recovers within just a few weeks, and in most cases, there’s no permanent damage.”
“And that’s what you expect with Dad?”That’s it. I’m definitely spending more time at home.
“Yes, exactly. From what we’ve seen with BHS, there’s no pattern of recurrence. It can happen, but we’ve never observed it.”
“So, you’re saying I was too emotional and had a fake heart attack that weakened the heart muscle, but it’ll repair itself and I’ll be fine?” Hal asked.
“Yes, sir. The damage to your heart muscles was minimal, so you should make a full recovery.”
“Well, then, I can go home and run my ranch.” Hal started to get out of bed.
Ben put a hand on Hal’s arm. “Not so fast. We gave you some medication to lighten the load on your heart while you recover. I want to monitor you for the next few hours, but then you should be good to go. I’ll go over the protocol with you before you’re released.”
“So he should be okay?” Treat asked.
“Yes.” Ben looked at Hal and said, “But, Mr. Braden, you cannot go back to working the ranch right away, as I know you’d like to. You should recover in a few weeks. But during that time, I don’t want you to do any strenuous work. Treat, can I count on you to ensure that he complies?” Ben ignored Hal’s groan and his harsh stare.
“Of course,” Treat answered.
“He’s got his own life to lead, Benjamin. What kind of garbage is that?” Hal lowered his voice and mumbled, “I don’t need a babysitter.”
“Of course you don’t. I’m sure you’ll go home and do exactly what I advise, because you were always so compliant with my father.” Ben coughed and said, “Broken arm,” at the same time.
Treat cracked a smile at his friend’s levity and his father’s simmering anger. Years earlier, his father had suffered a fractured arm, and instead of listening to Ben’s father’s medical advice, he was back on his favorite horse later that afternoon—and in the doctor’s office two hours later, after the fracture had morphed into a full break and he’d needed a cast.
“Ben, thank you. I appreciate you taking such good care of him.” Treat shook Ben’s hand.
“Do you want me to send Savannah in if I see her?” Ben asked.
“No need,” Savannah said as she walked in with her cell phone in her hand and suspicious red rings around the edges of her eyes. “I heard all of it.”
Treat knew she’d been crying, though if that was due to their father or Connor, he couldn’t be sure. He put his hand protectively on the small of her back.
“I’m sorry if I upset you, Savannah,” Ben said.
She nodded, then took her father’s hand. “So, basically, Dad needs to stop talking to Mom and stop worrying about us?”
Ben smiled. “Well, given that I don’t think your father will ever stop doing either one of those things, no. For now we’ll go with something a little easier, like maybe talking out some of his frustrations instead of holding them in.”
“I’m not talking to a therapist, if that’s what you’re saying, Benjamin. Your father would never ask me to do that,” Hal said.
“Dad, you’ll do whatever he tells you to do,” Savannah said.
“Don’t worry. I would never think of advising such a thing. My father schooled me well in the way of the Bradens. What I recommend is that when you are worried—or your wife is worried”—he ignored Savannah’s eye roll—“about something like your children, talk to them about it. Don’t keep it inside. And if there are troubles with the ranch, talk it through with Rex.”
