Heart Patient Urges Women to Pay Attention to Heart Health
MACON, Ga., JULY 7, 2025 – What started out as a typical September morning for Kathy Avriett turned out to be life changing.
She and her husband had just returned from working out at the gym. Before making brunch, Avriett trimmed a small tree in her backyard.
“My upper back was killing me before I finished the tree, but I was determined to complete my little task, and I assumed the pain was from holding my arms up,” Avriett said. “I couldn’t have been more wrong. I started to go inside and everything turned black.”
She said her husband found her on the patio, and helped her inside. She was sweating, experiencing some chest pressure and was short of breath. Avriett called her primary care physician’s office and was instructed to immediately go to the emergency room at Atrium Navicent Peach, near her home.
Initial testing came back with normal results, and she was told to follow-up with a cardiologist. A heart catheterization revealed that she had two arteries that were 80% blocked.
Dr. Jim Foster, an Atrium Health Navicent cardiothoracic surgeon, performed a coronary artery bypass graft at Atrium Health Navicent The Medical Center.
Foster says heart attack symptoms can be very different for men and women, and different for each person.
“Some people have the classic presentation of having chest pain,” Foster said. “Some people have pain in the wrist or the jaw. In some cases, more commonly in women, there might not be any symptoms at all.”
Avriett said she was well cared for by the Atrium Health Navicent staff and was able to go home after several days.
“I started walking in our neighborhood as much as possible and one of the neighbors remarked that I should be the ‘poster child for heart surgery,’” she said.
Avriett also received treatment at Atrium Health Navicent Cardiac Rehabilitation where therapists helped her regain strength and stamina.
Looking back on her experience, Avriett said, “I don’t think I would be here without Atrium Health Navicent. “I had wonderful care. Everyone was kind, compassionate and caring. I couldn’t have asked for anything more.”