It’s a tradition for Larry and Judy Schepers to grow an annual flower and vegetable garden in the backyard of their Jefferson City home.

The retirees make time to visit their children and grandchildren in Jefferson City and Atlanta, Georgia, and Larry still plays golf several times a week. But around the house, their garden is their pride and joy.

“I mow the grass and till the field every year,” Shepards said. “Judy grows everything that looks nice in the garden. Every year we have tomatoes and other vegetables that we cook with.”

In the spring of 2023, as Larry turned over soil with a spading fork, he noticed that he was becoming more and more exhausted. Enjoying 18 holes wasn’t easy either. Larry knew he wasn’t getting any younger, but he didn’t think his fatigue had much to do with his age.

During her annual checkup, Shepards discussed her feelings with her doctor, Dr. Kevin Reese. Mr. Reese assured Mr. Larry that he would help the health care doctors figure out what was going on. One of the tests he helped Shepard schedule was the “Love Your Heart” heart test.

“The judging process was very easy and very simple,” Shepards said. “It took her less than an hour, cost her $120 without insurance, and provides a lot of useful information for you and your doctor.”

This assessment takes less than an hour. Using blood draws, blood pressure checks, and a low-radiation CT scan called a coronary artery calcium scan, MU Healthcare’s cardiovascular specialists can help classify your risk for developing heart and other heart conditions. Illness and suffering a heart attack.

Dr. Brian Bostic, director of MU Healthcare’s Cardiovascular Clinic, is one of the doctors who scrutinizes test results, particularly calcium scans, to tailor cardiac care to each patient’s individual needs.

Elevated calcium near the heart is strong evidence of plaque buildup that can directly cause a heart attack. A coronary artery calcium scan is the best way to non-invasively assess the condition of your arteries.

“The Love Your Heart heart test really helps define risk more precisely,” Bostic said. “Currently, the risk calculators we use have wide margins of error, and a coronary calcium scan can significantly reclassify your risk, especially if the test is negative for signs of disease. The risk actually goes down significantly.”

Even though other test results (cholesterol levels, blood pressure, blood sugar levels) showed she was at low risk, her coronary artery calcium score showed otherwise. His cardiac calcium score was 1900.

“Dr. Reese said to me, ‘These are the best numbers I’ve ever seen,'” Shepards said. “That caught my attention right away.”

Although Larry was seen by a doctor with no obvious symptoms of heart disease, there was a family history of heart disease in both father and son. His coronary calcium score from his Love Your Heart screening justified his referral to interventional cardiologist Dr. Arun Kumar.

Kumar performed a cardiac catheterization and found that Schepers’ right coronary artery was 90% blocked. Kumar placed a stent to widen the blockage, greatly reducing Schepers’ chances of having a heart attack in the future.

“Larry’s screening results showed us that he was a perfect candidate for the Love Your Heart cardiac screening,” Bostic said. “Larry, like most of us, had no symptoms until something happened. This scan caught what was about to happen before it happened.”

Mr. Shepards first started at Reese in May, and his disability was cleared in June. As a participant in his MU Healthcare cardiac rehabilitation course, which includes exercise and food and nutrition classes, he learned that much of what he and Judy were already preparing in the kitchen was helpful for heart health. , I was happy.

“My wife is a great cook, and she doesn’t eat a lot of red meat, but she eats a lot of fish and chicken,” Schepers said. “Many of the tomatoes and various vegetables we use come from our garden.”

Now that his heart is unclogged, Larry’s energy is renewed, just as the soil is refreshed and strengthened each spring.

“If I hadn’t taken that test, I wouldn’t have the peace of mind I have now,” Shepards said.

MU Health Care heart experts recommend the Love Your Heart heart test for people with the following symptoms:

• Family history of heart disease
• Smoking history
• high blood pressure or cholesterol
• type 2 diabetes