The rider, Hector Florentino, thought he was going to die. Then the staff at the Wellington Regional Medical Center operated on him in record time.
Valentina Palm
Valentina Palm
Valentina Palm, Palm Beach Post
WELLINGTON — Hector Florentino was driving along Southern Boulevard on March 12 when he felt a slight pulling sensation in his chest. A minute later, the discomfort increased to a stabbing pain.
“That’s it,” thought the rider from Wellington as he pulled over to the side of the road. “It can only be a heart attack.”
The 51-year-old, whose father died of a heart attack at the age of 40, was alarmingly right. It was what doctors call a “widow maker” – when a coronary artery is 100% blocked and no oxygen can reach the heart muscles.
Paramedics rushed him to Wellington Regional Medical Center, where doctors saved his life by performing an angioplasty in record time. They completed the 90-minute procedure in 49 minutes and placed a stent in 25 minutes.
“I’ve never seen anyone go this fast since I’ve been here,” says Tammy Levasseur, the cardiovascular coordinator who has worked at the hospital for more than 15 years.
On August 12, exactly five months after the heart attack, Florentino returned to the hospital to thank the team of paramedics, doctors, nurses and hospital staff who had cared for him.
“I am grateful to the whole team who did a great job together,” said Florentino. “I felt perfect and the next moment I was almost dead.”
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Florentino got up early on the day of his heart attack and gave lessons at a riding school in Wellington from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m.
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He was driving to a lunch hour in Loxahatchee when he felt a mild discomfort in his chest, similar to heartburn. On a 10-point scale, the pain started at a two. Less than a minute later, it shot up to a 10.
Florentino managed to drive to a gas station, call his wife Giovana, and then dial 911.
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When firefighters arrived eight minutes later, Palm Beach County Fire Department personnel found him sweating, feeling nauseous, and having difficulty breathing. He was unable to open his eyes. The pain was unbearable and he began kicking the dashboard of his car.
Giovana arrived at the scene just before departure and drove with them to Wellington Regional. The paramedics were quiet as they examined Florentino’s body. All she could hear was his screams.
At Wellington Regional, Levasseur and a group of doctors, nurses and staff were waiting for him outside the emergency room entrance.
They cut open his shirt, ripped up his riding breeches, and were just about to cut up his favorite riding boots when Florentino, who was almost unconscious, begged them to just take off his boots.
Doctors determined that Florentino’s artery was 100% blocked. According to the American Heart Association, only about 12% of patients survive a widowmaker. That percentage rises to 25% if the patient is already in the hospital.
Doctors pressed on Florentino’s leg and inserted a stent, a tiny metal coil that expands and prevents the artery from closing again. After ten minutes, Florentino felt relief. He opened his eyes and held his breath.
The doctors told Giovana that her husband would have died if he had not arrived at the hospital in time.
“It was all a matter of time,” said Giovana Florentino. “That’s why it’s called a widowmaker. It’s only a matter of time before the heart no longer gets enough oxygen and simply fails.”
Hector Florentino spent four days in intensive care and was discharged three days later with no lasting damage from the operation.
“I was just incredibly lucky,” he said. “Everything happened so quickly.”
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Florentino says the doctors at Wellington Regional gave him “a second chance at life” and now he is preparing to fulfill his lifelong dream of competing in the Olympics.
He represented the Dominican Republic in show jumping at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and aims to compete at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
A week after returning home, he got back on his horse. Three weeks later, Florentino resumed his riding lessons.
Florentino said he was grateful to be able to return to his normal life, alongside his wife and horses in Wellington. The couple will now celebrate March 12 as their second anniversary.
“We have to do what needs to be done here quickly,” said Floretino. “Because we don’t know what will happen tomorrow.”
Valentina Palm covers Royal Palm Beach, Wellington, Greenacres, Palm Springs and other western Palm Beach County communities for The Palm Beach Post. Email[email protected] and follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @ValenPalmB. Support local journalism:Subscribe today.
