By JOAN McCOY
Leader staff writer
Cabot Mayor Bill Cypert was out of his office for three days recently for elective heart-bypass surgery.
A cardiac surgeon at Baptist Health Medical Center in North Little Rock replaced one blocked artery and four that were marginal, Cypert said in a phone interview on Monday, 10 days after the surgery.
On the fifth day after the bypass, he was back at work, but it was 10 days before he sent a press release about the surgery in which he encouraged adults to lead, promote and be examples of a healthy lifestyle for children and teenagers.
The mayor, 70, said he kept quiet about the surgery because he didn’t want anyone making a fuss over him. And he knew the procedure is routine now. There was never any doubt in his mind that he would be out of his office for only a few days, he said.
Monday morning, he was back to his old routine: breakfast at Jane’s Kitchen and in his office by 6:30 a.m.
“Don’t be alarmed at things your health-care professional may find from time to time,” the mayor said in the press release that went out to newspapers, staff and elected officials on Monday. “Potential problems detected early can often be remedied with no long-term effects.
“Late in 2011, my annual physical and a routine nuclear stress test revealed some potential heart blockage. After thorough diagnosis, I decided it would be more long-term, lifetime-quality effective to deal with through elective and preventative heart-bypass surgery, a very common and fairly safe procedure called cardiac-artery bypass grafting.
“Stents were not projected to be as effective. I made the decision to take a short period of time off and schedule the surgery. The minimally invasive, state-of-the-art surgery was tremendously successful, and I was back scheduling activities within three days after surgery. My cardiovascular team at Baptist Health Medical Center in North Little Rock is highly professional, extremely knowledgeable and experienced and provides top-quality health care and services,” he said.
“Please eat healthy and maintain the best weight for your height. Exercise regularly in a program that best fits you, and schedule periodic preventative maintenance physicals and lab work,” Cypert said.
