When Riaz Aziz saw a sign for a heart scan while at a doctor’s appointment, he thought it would be nice to see proof of his dedication to good health. The adjunct instructor in the Offutt School of Business routinely works out six days a week and drastically overhauled his diet 12 years ago.
Instead, the scan showed a blockage. He was referred to a cardiologist who did more tests and said Aziz was on the borderline and could wait.
“I didn’t have any symptoms, no chest pains, and no shortness of breath. In fact, most people with heart problems don’t even know they have one,” Aziz said.
As one might expect from a researcher, he reviewed the statistics: one in four deaths in the United States is due to heart disease. Aziz did not want to take chances.
“Why would I not want to have it done now if it’s possible?” Aziz said.
So Aziz underwent a triple bypass surgery. The surgery and rehab were a success, and he was quickly back to his routine.
Now the longtime educator is hoping his story teaches others a lesson about establishing healthy habits early.
“We had pizza, fried chicken and beef, pop, alcohol, sweets — we eat all that stuff because when you’re in your teens and early 20s you have a mentality that you're bulletproof,” Aziz said. “You think nothing can happen to you, and it’s probably true at that time. But it takes about four to five decades to get to my stage where it needs to be fixed.”
He has been urging relatives and friends to talk to their doctors about getting a heart scan and doing it sooner rather than later.
“Do it today,” he added. “It's less than a hundred bucks, and it takes two hours to find out if you are healthy or if you have a problem. Get this thing done.”
Aziz was featured on WDAY TV about his experience. You can find the story here.