The Biblioteca resumes its series of medical discussions on Tuesday, January 31, with a topic that is near and dear to my heart:

My heart.

And I hope your heart, too.

No kidding, if it weren’t for one of these panelists, I would not be writing this today. 

The 2 p.m. program in the Biblioteca Plaza is titled, “Mexico, Medicine, and Me: Cardiac Care.” And while it is free to the public, it is expected to be another full house, as we all hunger for the highest quality medical information we can find.

The panel consists of four local cardiac specialists Dr. Jorge Alvarez de la Cadena Sillas, a founding member of the Instituto de Corazon de Queretaro and in private practice here in San Miguel de Allende; Dr. Santiago Casal Alonso, with offices in MAC Hospital; Dr. Juan Francisco Melendez Alhambra, performed SMA’s first open heart surgery at MAC Hospital; and Dr. Jose Luis Romero Ibarra, a cardiac interventionist.

The moderator for the panel will be Dr. Grace Lim.

I am especially keen to have you attend, and here is why:

I was barely residing six months in San Miguel when my wife convinced me to meet with a cardiologist. I agreed although I couldn’t see the point. I was hitting the gym regularly, eating well, and feeling on top of my game physically. (As top as you can get at 66 years old.)

I did have one stent in my heart, inserted two years earlier. On a recommendation, I made an appointment with Dr. Jorge Alvarez, one of today’s panelists. We talked, a lot. He ran some in-office tests, then he convinced me to visit the Heart Institute in Queretaro for more testing.

Naturally, I thought this was all way too much attention to a guy who was feeling terrific,

Then I saw the images of my clogged-up left-ventricular artery (aka “The Widowmaker”). Even with the old stent, that thing was in bad shape. It took three more stents to re-open it. Thanks to my wife and Dr. Alvarez, I’m still around.

Yes, I was feeling just fine. Probably would have been out for a run or hiking in some canyon when the clogging hit 100 percent. Who knows? 

What I know is that these folks will have some very important things to say about your hearts, and mine. Take an hour or so to go and listen. Don’t be like me and wait until everything turns critical.

Listen to your heart, but also listen to your head. If you think you ought to get a checkup … get a checkup.

You can go to this link to unload a ticket to today’s free event: https://teatrosantaana.org/tc-events/mexico-medicine-and-me-cardiac-care/

The library’s first panel brought together four general practitioners, family doctors, and internists to talk about local medical care and preparations you can take ahead of an emergency. They offered some terrific advice. You can read about it here.

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