TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Michael Griffis was as active as anyone at 48 years old: playing tennis, hiking and biking across southern Arizona.
But when he started feeling out of shape, he figured it just had to do with getting older.
"I started to just feel more out of breath. I play tennis, so at changeover between games, I just couldn't catch my breath," said Griffis, "I couldn't and I started to notice that my heart rate wasn't going down. And I, I think I thought to myself, gosh, you're really out of shape. Is this what 50 is going to be like?"
But it wasn't about his age, Griffis was stumbling onto something more.
"I knew something was wrong. And so I started talking more with Dr. Carlos Borras, and he said, well, let's, let's look at cardiology," says Griffis.
After several rounds of testing, Griffis was met with a scary diagnosis.
"When I went to the cath lab, they did the study, and the doctor came back to the recovery area and said, I do not have good news. You have four vessel blockage and you need to have open heart surgery to correct it," Griffis said.
He had quadruple bypass surgery on February 28th, 2024.
Now, a year later, he is back on his feet living his life.
"I'm back playing tennis, hiking up mountains. In fact, I've made it sort of my, my personal goal to go hike mountains or hike trails where I was feeling out of breath before, and to see if I can do it as a test," says Griffis.
But had he not asked for help, he might have run out of time.
"He probably wouldn't have lasted maybe a year, maybe two years, you know, without having a massive heart attack that would have killed him," says Dr. Carlos Borras, a physician at TMC One.
Borras sees a lot of cases of heart disease. According to the CDC, it is the number one cause of death in the United States.
"There are cases like that all day, every day, you know. And, and a lot of patients, you know, we got lucky with Michael because he listened to himself, you know. And he's felt that something was weird and came in," says Dr. Carlos Borras, a physician at TMC One.
In Tucson, several local hospitals offer testing and cardiac services like:
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Blake Phillips is a reporter for KGUN 9. Originally from St. Louis, Mo., Blake grew up in Sierra Vista. During his college tenure at the Missouri School of Journalism, Blake worked for the NBC affiliate KOMU-TV in Columbia. He is excited to return to a place he calls home and give back to the community in which he grew up. Share your story ideas and important issues with Blake by emailing blake.phillips@kgun9.com.
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