Ahead of Valentine's Day, area resident gives heartfelt thanks to cardiac team at RVH

Valentine’s Day will mean more than flowers and cards for Cliff Lloyd and his family this year.

Just months ago, Cliff suffered a major heart attack. Ahead of Valentine’s Day, he returned to Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) with his wife and two daughters to thank the cardiac team who saved his life.

Last fall, while having routine blood work done, Cliff felt sudden, sharp pain in his back, left shoulder and chest.

“I knew right away something was off,” said Cliff. “I headed home and my wife drove me straight to the hospital. Looking back, that quick decision made all the difference.”

Cliff arrived at RVH’s emergency department and within an hour was undergoing blood work, an ECG and receiving medication. A Code STEMI was called — the hospital’s most urgent response to a severe heart attack — and he was transferred to the cardiac catheterization lab.

Doctors determined Cliff had an occluded mid-left anterior descending (LAD) artery, often referred to as the “widow maker.” A stent restored blood flow to his heart, a rapid intervention that ultimately saved his life.

“From the very beginning, every member of the team was professional, calm and reassuring,” said Cliff. “Despite the seriousness of my condition, everything was explained in a way I could understand. They eased my fear and helped me focus on recovery.”

Cliff spent the remainder of the week in RVH’s cardiac care unit before returning home with a cardiac education package and enrolment in the health centre’s cardiovascular rehabilitation program.

As the father of two, daughters Pam Newlove and Shawna Ropson, who both work at RVH, and husband to retired RVH medical device reprocessing technician Heidi Lloyd, Cliff said being on the receiving end of care deepened the respect he already had for the teams at the health centre.

“I have always known the sacrifices health-care workers make,” he said. “But being in their care gave me an even deeper appreciation for the skill, dedication and compassion that define the people who work at RVH.”

For his daughter, Shawna Ropson, a nurse in RVH’s cancer centre, seeing her father receive emergency cardiac care was emotional.

“As a nurse, you know how much planning and preparation happens behind the scenes,” said Ropson. “But when it’s your own dad, it can be scary. Watching the team move so quickly and confidently to co-ordinate his care brought me real relief. I’m proud to be part of a team that ensures families like mine have access to life-saving care when it matters most.”

RVH’s Simcoe Muskoka Regional Heart Program provides advanced cardiac care close to home for patients from across the region and beyond. In the past year alone, the program performed 1,674 cardiac catheterizations and treated 280 STEMI cases. More than 370 pacemakers were implanted, 449 patients participated in the cardiac rehabilitation program and approximately 50,000 ECGs were completed.

“These numbers represent more than statistics — they represent lives changed and critical moments where minutes matter,” said Dana Naylor, vice-president, clinical, and regional vice-president, cancer services, Ontario Health (Cancer Care Ontario), at RVH. “Stories like Cliff’s remind us why rapid access to expert cardiac care close to home is so important. Our cardiac teams bring skill, co-ordination and compassion to every patient, every day.”

Heart disease remains the second-leading cause of death in Canada. Early recognition of symptoms and immediate medical attention are critical in improving outcomes.

During February’s Heart Month, the Simcoe Muskoka Regional Heart Program encourages community members to lower their risk of heart disease by staying smoke free, being physically active, eating a balanced diet, limiting alcohol and working with their health-care team to monitor and manage conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol.

For Cliff, returning to RVH was a welcome opportunity to thank the team who helped him get back to what matters most — being a husband and father.

“The care I received was exceptional, and I will never forget it,” said Cliff. “The skill, speed and teamwork gave me confidence that I was in the very best hands. My family gave me strength, and RVH gave me a second chance.”