Wellington Resident Receives Lifesaving Heart Procedure
Wellington equestrian Hector Florentino now has a second chance at life and a shot at the 2028 Olympics thanks to the care he received at Wellington Regional Medical Center.
A heart attack strikes
On March 12, 2024, Florentino was driving when he felt a slight tug in his chest. A minute later, the discomfort inflamed to crushing pain. "This is it,” the Wellington equestrian recalls thinking as he swerved to the side of the road. "The only thing this can be is a heart attack."
The 51-year-old, whose father died of a heart attack at age 40, was right. The type of heart attack, known as a "widowmaker" — occurs when a coronary artery is 100% blocked and prevents oxygen from getting to the heart muscles. Only about 12% of patients survive a widowmaker, according to the American Heart Association. That percentage goes up to 25% if the patient is already in the hospital.
Saving his life
Paramedics took him to Wellington Regional Medical Center, where doctors performed an angioplasty to widen the coronary arteries that were blocked or narrowed. The time from Florentino's arrival at the ER to the device being placed was 25 minutes. The national benchmark goal is 90 minutes from arrival to device. "I haven’t seen one quicker since I’ve been here,” says Tammy Levasseur, Wellington Regional's cardiovascular coordinator.
Doctors told Hector’s wife Giovana that her husband would have died if he hadn't gotten to the hospital on time. "It was all about time,” Giovana says. “That is why it’s called a widowmaker. It's just a matter of time before the heart doesn't get enough oxygen and just shuts down.”
After the attack
Florentino spent four days in intensive care and was discharged three days later without any residual damage from the surgery. "I was just super lucky," he said. "Everything happened so quickly.”
A week after returning home, he got back on his horse. Three weeks later, Florentino resumed teaching riding lessons.
He is grateful to be alive, next to his wife and horses in Wellington. The couple will now celebrate March 12 as his second birthday. "We’ve got to do what we need to do here fast,” Florentino says. “Because we don't know tomorrow.”
Florentino says the doctors at Wellington Regional gave him "a second chance in life," and he is now gearing up to fulfill his lifelong dream of returning to compete in the Olympics. He represented the Dominican Republic in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo for show jumping and wants to compete in the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
Thanking Wellington
On August 12, 2024, exactly five months after the heart attack, Florentino returned to the hospital to thank the team of paramedics, doctors, nurses and hospital staff that cared for him. “I am grateful for the whole team that did a great job together,” Florentino says. "I was feeling perfect, and the next minute I was almost dead.”