KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Local sports broadcaster John Dale knows the value of getting a heart checkup.
It helped him deal with a disease that runs in his family and the examination helped keep him alive.
Dale, an announcer for Sporting KC and the Kansas City Mavericks said he was diagnosed with heart disease just before his 40th birthday.
"During a routine visit to my primary care doctor, we discovered my cholesterol levels and other blood work wasn’t looking so great."
Dale never felt anything but normal until it was nearly too late.
Dale, along with the American Heart Association, encourage regular checkups to make sure you aren't surprised by a sudden diagnosis.
The CDC reports nearly all counties in Kansas saw an increase in heart-related deaths over the last ten years.
“Knowing that heart disease ran in my family, that was always in the back of my mind that it could be a possibility for me," Dale said. "To receive that type of diagnosis at that age, in the shape that I was in, was a little bit of a shock. Unfortunately, we caught it a little too late. The cholesterol had already built up. And I was left with a 99-percent blockage in my right coronary artery which led to my emergent visit to the hospital.”
A few years and two overlapping stents later, he's using his voice to warn others to get checked earlier than he did.
“That is absolutely critical," he said. "Early detection and prevention is the key to battling heart disease."
