Chance examinations lead to critical diagnoses and life saving interventions for volunteer patients of two MedQuest students. In two unrelated events, a recent graduate and a current student of MedQuest College discover serious issues, leading to diagnosis and life-saving interventions.
Most students enter the medical field hoping to improve the lives and health of people in their communities. Recently, a current student and a recent graduate of MedQuest College put their skills to the test and saved two lives in the process. Hunter Brown, recent graduate of MedQuest's sonography program and Jessica Begley, current student at MedQuest also in the sonography program both identified serious issues in practice examinations, prompting much-needed medical care for their respective patients.
Hunter Brown, who has now accepted a position as a cardiac sonographer with Baptist Health Louisville, was getting some extra sonography practice last summer when he scanned his father's heart. In doing so, he found a life-threatening issue called aortic stenosis, a common but serious diagnosis that is characterized by a narrowing of the aortic valve opening, restricting blood flow from the left ventricle to the aorta. This condition can cause a patient to feel weak or lethargic in early stages, and can lead to heart failure. Fortunately for Greg Brown, Hunter's father, Hunter recognized the condition immediately, prompting his father to seek additional medical attention. In less than two weeks from the discovery, Greg Brown underwent surgery and received a bypass, a pacemaker, and valve replacement. Doctors said that if Hunte4r had not caught his father's condition, he likely would have died within a month.
Jessica Begley had a similar experience more recently when MedQuest Admission Advisor Chris Ward agreed to allow her to practice on him, examining his heart. What she found was as surprising as it was concerning. First, when taking Ward's vitals, she found him to have an extremely elevated blood pressure. Upon further examination with the sonography equipment, Begley noticed that Ward had an abnormally dilated aorta and an enlarged ventricle. These conditions leave a patient at high rest for strokes and aortic aneurysms. Ward is only 25 so it is fortunate that he volunteered to be scanned by Begley. The chance encounter will allow Ward's doctors to closely monitor his health and develop a strategy to save his life.