05/22/2026
A week before he was scheduled to take a cruise to the Western Caribbean with his wife, Rickie M. scheduled a calcium score screening at the advice of his primary care doctor, Stephen Lambert, MD.
He felt perfectly healthy and had no symptoms, so hearing he was at high risk for a heart attack was completely unexpected.
Dr. Lambert referred Rickie to Vasanth Bethala, MD, an interventional cardiologist at the John Ochsner Heart and Vascular Institute at Slidell Memorial Hospital. Dr. Bethala performed an angiogram, which showed multiple blockages in Rickie's heart.
“This checkup, this imaging that I had done, it saved my life,” Rickie said. “I firmly believe that I would not still be here had it not been for the medical assistance that I had.”
Gregory Eckholdt, MD, a cardiac surgeon at Ochsner Health Center – Gause, recommended emergency bypass surgery.
“I said, ‘Can this wait until I get back?’” Rickie said. “He looked at me – I could remember his look – he said, ‘You need surgery now.’”
After a successful surgery and recovery, Rickie has continued playing jazz piano at churches and in bands in and around New Orleans, including at Preservation Hall. He said he feels great and is thankful to the doctors and his care team at Slidell Memorial and Ochsner.
“The care team was just on the ball, out of sight,” he said. “I recommend (them) to anybody.”
Learn more about Rickie and the life-saving care he received at Ochsner Health and Slidell Memorial Hospital: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vivAsU-pa8
