WHEAT RIDGE, Colo. — For American Heart Month, Denver7 is highlighting the importance of regular physicals and check-ups with a doctor as that may have been the key to saving one Wheat Ridge father’s life.
Michael Marcoux, born and raised in Wheat Ridge, and a 1993 Air Force Academy graduate, has spent most of his life in Colorado. He has a passion for physical fitness. He regularly exercise and even trains for Spartan Races with his son. During an annual physical, a CT scan revealed an ascending aortic aneurysm, or a ballooning of the aorta that can rupture with catastrophic results.
It shows that even the healthiest of people can have unseen ailments.
Denver7’s Ethan Carlson
Michael Marcoux with some of his family in Wheat Ridge. Doctors recently repaired an aneurysm in his heart.
“I believe, had I not known about it or not acted upon it, five years down the road I would have been leaving my wife and five kids without a father,” Marcoux said.
Dr. Jason Shofnos, director of cardiovascular surgery at HCA HealthONE in Denver, said Marcoux’s aorta measured near 4.8 centimeters on imaging and was about 5 centimeters when measured in the operating room. A normal aorta in that area is roughly 3 centimeters.
“Aneurysms are asymptomatic until they’re not,” Shofnos said. “When there’s a frank rupture of this area, it’s nearly 100 percent fatal.”
Marcoux’s condition was linked to a bicuspid aortic valve, a two-leaflet valve present in about 3% of people that can accelerate flow and lead to calcium buildup and a higher chance of aneurysms. Shofnos said bicuspid valves, rather than the typical three-leaflet valve, run in families and that people should consider meeting with a cardiovascular specialist if they have a family history of heart issues.
Denver7’s Ethan Carlson
Dr. Jason Shofnos helped remove the enlarged part of Marcoux’s aorta, and replaced it with a polyester tube.
Surgeons removed the enlarged section of Marcoux’s aorta and replaced it with a Dacron graft, a woven polyester tube commonly used in these repairs. Shofnos said elective repairs are safer when patients are in good shape, and modern risks for many open-heart cases are low. He expects Marcous to return to his prior activity level by the end of a roughly three-month recovery period.
Marcoux and his wife said their Catholic faith, family support and confidence in the medical team helped carry them through the decision to have open-heart surgery. He urges others with a family history of heart problems to get screened.
A routine check-up may have saved a Wheat Ridge father’s life
“Number one, understand it,” Marcoux said. “Number two, get it looked at, whether that’s a scan, whether that’s an ultrasound. But talking to cardiac doctors is very advisable.”
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