First Line of Defense Against Heart Disease for Falcons Fans

When Atlanta Falcons season ticket holders Raj and Colleen Ambardekar stopped by the Piedmont Heart Institute (PHI) booth at a home game in September 2009, they had no idea how important that decision would be. As the preferred healthcare provider for the Atlanta Falcons, PHI offered the couple complimentary blood pressure checks and an online seven-minute HeartAware™ cardiac risk assessment.

An evaluation of the test results and family history identified Raj Ambardeka as high risk for heart disease and a candidate for a PHI study, which later revealed he had significant blockages in several arteries. Four months later, after a heart catheterization to further evaluate the blockages and new medication, the 68-year-old was doing well. Piedmont doctors also recommended a daily aspirin and changes in his diet and exercise.

“I feel very fortunate to have benefitted from the technology and expertise of a major metropolitan hospital such as Piedmont, and the physicians at Piedmont Heart Institute in particular,” says Ambardekar, who was not experiencing any symptoms and routinely visited his hometown doctor in Cochran, Georgia.

Throughout last football season, PHI employees administered 2,639 blood pressure checks, 385 cholesterol checks and 50 HeartAware assessments. They were located at the Falcons Landing and Club Level of the Georgia Dome. Piedmont Hospital Emergency Department employees also staffed a first-aid tent at Falcons Landing.