Sara McHenry took a calcium scoring test for fun – and it may have saved her life

When Sara McHenry’s husband had a calcium scoring test, which measures the plaque buildup in your arteries, she decided to do one too. Not because she was concerned about her health, but because she thought she could “beat” him with a better score.

“His was good,” she said. “I thought, ‘mine will be better.’”

One triple bypass surgery later, it’s safe to say her scores were not better.

Instead, Sara’s results showed that the 45-year-old, 130 pound woman was not as healthy as she appeared on the outside. She underwent a cat scan and a heart cath, both of which came back consistent with the results. The entire time, though, Sara kept expecting it to be some kind of mistake.

“I walked in for my heart cath and thought, ‘This is crazy. They’re going to say you’re fine or there’s a little blockage of something,’” she said. “I never dreamed it would be what it was.”

It turned out she had an artery that was 80% blocked, two more that were 90% blocked, and another that was 100% blocked.

“That heart cath was on Friday, and I had a triple bypass Monday morning,” she said. Sara’s case was a surprise to every medical professional she encountered on her journey – but as it turns out, it may not be that unusual. Following her experience, Sara began sharing her story on Facebook. As a result, she knows of several other people who had a calcium scoring test and discovered their own conditions were similar to hers. It has made Sara an advocate for the test because it is able to uncover problems that could otherwise remain undetected – and which could have disastrous outcomes if untreated.

That reality has given Sara room to argue that, even though her test results came back much worse than her husbands, she still came out a “winner” in their competition. “I won in the game of life because they told me this is why mothers die,” she explained. “They don’t realize anything’s wrong and just go on with life… I didn’t have any symptoms that I knew of. Looking back, I was very tired, but I just thought ‘I’m a mom. I’m all over the place. I’m going to be tired.’”

In addition to recommending calcium scoring tests, Sara also has high praise for the team at Southern Ohio Medical Center.

“Everyone’s fantastic,” she said. “From the older gentleman at the front desk when you walk in, to the nurses, to the aides, to the doctors… There’s not one bad thing I can say about that experience except that I had to have a triple bypass.

“Everybody thinks they should go to a bigger area to have stuff done,” she added. “You don’t out have to go out of town to have major procedures; we have great things right here.”

To receive a calcium scoring test, you will need to obtain an order from your provider. Tests cost $100. For more information, call 740-356-8128.