Dr. William Fredette, Bassett Pediatrician, Shares Recent Heart Care Journey
“Listen to your body…When it comes to heart health, knowledge is power.”

A week before Christmas, Dr. William Fredette was carrying firewood when he started having chest pains.

It was subtle at first, but over the next few days, symptoms became sharper. β€œAs silly as it sounds, I knew what was happening but tried to talk myself out of it,” he says. β€œWe had holiday guests coming, and I didn’t have time for this!”

Dr. Fredette is a pediatrician who serves as co-director of Bassett Healthcare Network’s School-Based Health Program and sees patients at Fox Pediatrics in Oneonta. β€œI remembered enough from my internal medicine rotations to know something was wrong. The pain was becoming more constant, and I couldn’t ignore it any longer.”

Fredette’s chest pain began to radiate to his left arm and jaw, and he told his wife he needed to go to the emergency department. They drove to Bassett Medical Center in Cooperstown from their home in Gilbertsville.

β€œWe walked into the emergency department and staff were running an EKG on me within a couple of minutes,” Fredette recalled.

An EKG, or electrocardiogram, is a test that records electrical signals in the heart. β€œThe emergency room staff looked at the reading, looked at each other, and then looked at me,” he says. “That’s when it became real.”

β€œTime Is Tissue”

Things happened very quickly after that moment. β€œBefore I knew it, I was being prepped for a procedure. I was in the emergency department for only a matter of minutes. It was seamlessly orchestrated.”

Fredette had a blockage in the left anterior descending artery of his heart, one of the two branches of the left main coronary artery which supplies 50% of the heart muscle’s blood supply. β€œMany of us have heard the term β€˜widow maker’,” he says. β€œAnd that’s exactly what this kind of heart attack was.”

He quickly underwent a coronary angioplasty and stent placement, performed by Dr. Mun Hong, attending physician in Interventional Cardiology at Bassett Medical Center. β€œTreatment for this type of heart attack must happen very quickly,” says Dr. Hong. β€œDamage to the heart’s muscle can occur rapidly. The angioplasty is a procedure to open the artery and make room for the stent, which is a small tube placed in the artery to help with blood flow. Stents are permanent. They act as a traffic guard for your artery and prevent the artery from becoming too narrow again and restricting blood flow.”

Advanced Cardiovascular Care…Not in a City

Fredette’s procedure went smoothly. β€œThe care team was incredibly professional, skilled, and compassionate,” he says. β€œI could tell they do this every day, but somehow still made me feel like I was their only patient. I was 100 miles from the nearest city, but I was exactly where I needed to be.”

Fredette was admitted to Bassett’s Intensive Care Unit, where his inpatient cardiology team monitored him for 36 hours. β€œThey were some of the kindest people I’ve met,” he recalls. β€œIt was a scary situation, especially for my wife, and they provided exceptional care to both of us. I felt confident that I was in the best hands. They were not only highly skilled, but also incredibly caring.”

He was discharged home in less than two days. β€œConveniently, I already had the week between the holidays off,” says Fredette. β€œWithin a couple of days, I was back to my normal activity. I don’t have any physical limitations and feel good.” Fredette returned to his pediatric practice the day after New Year’s Day.

Dr. Fredette hopes his story will spark conversations and encourage education among family, friends, community members, caregivers of patients, and colleagues – especially during Heart Health Month in February. β€œWe never think it can happen to us,” he says. β€œBut this can happen to anyone. Listen to your body. Learn your family history. When it comes to heart health, knowledge is power. And if something doesn’t feel right, don’t wait. Get care immediately.”

β€œI’m immensely grateful to the team at Bassett Medical Center,” he says. “This story could have ended very differently. But though my life is changed a bit now, thanks to them, my story isn’t over.”

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