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Caring for
the heart
Wanda Pagnotta's symptoms pointed toward blocked arteries, but she never expected
the radiation she received a decade ago to treat Hodgkin's lymphoma could be the
root cause.
When Wanda Pagnotta, 47, began feeling unwell
in March of 2016, she was concerned. She'd had a
pacemaker put in to control previous heart problems
in January of 2015, and while it had been working, she
started to experience palpitations, chest pressure and
even shortness of breath when doing activities she'd
once been able to enjoy.
"I wasn't feeling well, and noticed as I did any kind of
exercise I became short of breath sooner than I used
to," said Ms. Pagnotta, clinical services coordinator
and patient navigator for the Cancer Services Program
of Suffolk County at Peconic Bay Medical Center.
"Then, I was at work one day and the palpitations and
shortness of breath came on again, so I just went to
our emergency department. They called a cardiologist
for a consult, and after he reviewed everything, he
suggested I have an angiogram despite my tests
showing no blockages."
Ms. Pagnotta was transferred to Southside Hospital
where Steven J. Lederman, MD, performed an
angiogram. On October 13, 2016, she was informed
she had three separate blockages, and would require
surgery immediately. Her bypass procedure was
performed the next day.
The long road
After recovering from surgery, Ms. Pagnotta returned
to work in January of 2017, and believed she was out of
the woods. That changed, however, when shortness of
breath and feelings of heaviness in her chest sent her
back to the ED in February. She met Stanley Katz, MD,
chair of cardiology at Peconic Bay Medical Center and
professor of cardiology at Hofstra Northwell School of
Medicine at Hofstra University.
"What we learned was that Ms. Pagnotta had cancer
about 15 years ago, and while she's had no recurrence,
she did have radiation treatment," Dr. Katz said. "In
meeting her and talking to her about her medical
history, I felt her heart had undergone damage from
that radiation."
Heart care
