New glasses a lifesaver for Pat
9 May 2025
The purchase of new glasses has likely saved the life of a Horsham business owner and now she has a very strong message for others.
Pat Kennett upgraded her prescription glasses earlier this year and soon after, she started experiencing headaches. Assuming the pain was caused by her new glasses, Pat returned to her optometrist who performed another eye check.
Pat said that during the check, the optometrist noticed a bleed behind her right eye and told her she should ‘get to a doctor immediately’.
“I did that and when the GP took my blood pressure, he told me it was so high that I should have already had a heart attack or stroke by now,” Pat said.
“Thank goodness I hadn’t but it set the ball rolling for a series of blood tests as well as an ECG and an MRI which included a few trips to Ballarat.
“The blood tests revealed a few other medical problems which needed to be fixed before I could have any heart surgery. Initially they thought I would need stents but after all the testing, the cardiologist said I would need a triple bypass.”
Pat’s surgeon visited her after the operation to confirm she in fact had quadruple bypass surgery.
“He told me I was a very lucky woman and from the condition of my arteries, he can’t believe that I hadn’t already had a heart attack,” she said.
The road to recovery for Pat was longer than she had anticipated. For six weeks she wasn’t allowed to drive a vehicle and had to step away from her lighting and fan business while she recovered.
“I thought I would be back at work in a few weeks but that’s not how it works because I was very tired and struggled to achieve much at all.”
Pat is now participating in the cardiac rehabilitation program at Grampians Health Horsham where she is meeting others in her group with heart health issues. From the program, she is learning a great deal about her heart and what she needs to do to recover completely.
The more she learns the more Pat realises how lucky she has been and now she wants to get a message to others – women in particular.
“I was aware that I was at some risk of heart disease because it was already in my family. My father died of a heart attack,” she said.
“But because I’ve generally been in good health, I just thought I was going to be one of those people that nothing happens to them.
“I was just very lucky things played out the way they did and now I just really want everyone to have a heart health check done. I especially want women to get themselves checked because apparently their symptoms of heart disease are generally not as obvious as that of men.
Grampians Health Cardiac Nurse Jo Carroll said once people turned 45, they should get a heart health check.
“People with diabetes should get checked once they turn 35 and First Nations people from age 30,” Ms Carroll said.
“It’s generally a 20-minute check-up with your GP and it will help you understand if you are at risk of a heart attack or stroke in the next five years. Your doctor will then work with you on ways that you can reduce your risk.”