Cresent Hardy returns to campaign trail after having two stents placed in artery

U.S. Rep. Cresent Hardy was campaigning again Tuesday, two days after a heart episode that sent him to the hospital.

Hardy, R-Nev., said he has no need or plans to slow down after the episode, which started Sunday night when he had two waves of pain in his left shoulder.

“I got a little nervous after the second episode and my wife hauled me to the hospital,” the 59-year-old Hardy told reporters after receiving the endorsement of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce at a campaign event.

Hardy is running for a second two-year term in the 4th Congressional District, facing Democratic candidate Ruben Kihuen, a state senator.

Hardy, who lives in the Bunkerville area, said he first went to a hospital in Mesquite, where doctors couldn’t find anything. He was then sent to Dixie Regional Medical Center in St. George, Utah, for further evaluation, according to Hardy and a hospital spokeswoman.

Hardy said two stents were placed into an artery leading to his heart after his artery “collapsed.” Stents can be placed in weak or narrow arteries to improve blood flow.

His office on Monday initially described the episode as a mild heart attack. But Hardy stopped short of calling it a heart attack Tuesday when talking to reporters.

“I don’t know if you’d call it a heart attack,” he said. “I guess it is an attack, but it wasn’t any type of failure, no muscular degeneration or anything that comes with a heart attack. They just found that there was an artery in there that was collapsed — not clogged but just collapsed … ”

Hardy said the doctor believes the problem started well before the elected official went to the hospital for stents.

Dr. Frederick Schaller, a cardiologist and clinical faculty adjunct at Touro University, said the term “heart attack” typically indicates some type of damage to the heart but said it wasn’t clear from Hardy’s comments exactly what happened.

“The vast majority of heart attacks are caused by blockages in the arteries that supply the heart’s muscle,” he said.

Clots can impede blood flow to the heart, which can result in pain in areas including the chest and shoulder. If a clot even temporarily blocks blood flow, heart muscle can die. Other heart attack causes include spasms, blood clots or tears in the artery.

Initially, Hardy was planning to take Monday off for a long-delayed colonoscopy, which health officials suggest people older than 50 schedule routinely.

The colonoscopy will have to wait about a year. That’s because Hardy is taking blood thinner medication because of the procedure.

Hardy says the experience isn’t slowing him down.

“I feel great,” he said. “I actually feel better than I’ve felt in quite some time.”

The campaign will continue. From Hardy’s view, it’s not a nerve-racking experience.

“I’m a different personality,” he said as reporters surrounded him. “I don’t get stressed about things. I get wound up. Things make me uncomfortable like microphones and cameras. But I don’t get offended by people. I keep things right with me and the Lord and that’s all I got to worry about at the end of the day.”

Contact Ben Botkin at bbotkin@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2904. Follow @BenBotkin1on Twitter. Contact Pashtana Usufzy at pusufzy@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4563. Follow @pashtana_u on Twitter.