‘She saved my life,’ said Butte man, thanks to follow-up by Intermountain Health Heart & Vascular Clinic caregiver.
(PRUnderground) September 23rd, 2025
While refilling a prescription for a blood thinner he’d been taking since 2020, Montana resident John “Denny” Morgan got an unexpected call.
“(Becky) said it had been a few years since I’ve seen anybody, and she wanted to make an appointment for me to come up and see her,” said Morgan.
It was Becky Wozniak, NP, a nurse practitioner from the Intermountain Health Heart & Vascular Clinic in Butte.
“When someone’s on medication for an extended period of time, it’s important that we continue to have routine exams,” said Wozniak. “This allows us to make sure their body is still reacting properly to the medication and that it is continuing to improve the patient’s condition.”
Morgan agreed and scheduled an appointment with Wozniak, who ordered an initial surveillance echocardiogram, a test that uses sound waves to create pictures of your heart’s valves and chambers. After the initial exam came back abnormal, Wozniak recommended further testing, including an angiogram, a procedure which allows his heart team to get a closer look at the blood vessels in his heart.
Both Morgan and Carlos Albrecht, MD, cardiologist at Intermountain Health St. James Hospital, were surprised by the results.
“All of a sudden, Dr. Albrecht got up and walked out of the room,” said Morgan. “When he came back in and said, ‘I just ordered you a life flight because the right side of your heart is 95 percent blocked.’”
Dr. Albrecht informed Morgan that he would need emergency open heart surgery. Stunned, Morgan agreed. He collected his wife, informing her of the news, and they prepared for their departure.
“I had open heart surgery the next day,” said Morgan. “I was in shock more than anything – I just couldn’t believe that it was something that severe that they needed it to be done right away.”
Now, just less than a year later, Morgan is sure that the phone call from Wozniak saved his life.
“I had no symptoms whatsoever,” said Morgan. “No shortness of breath, no chest pains, nothing. I would have never known until it was too late.”
His open-heart surgery included the replacement of the aortic valve, maintenance on two other valves, and a triple bypass. After an eight-hour surgery and a week of recovery, Morgan and his wife returned to Butte, where he committed to the cardiac rehab program at St. James Hospital.
“None of us were expecting to find that severe blockage when I initially called,” said Wozniak, who noted that the decision to ask Morgan to come in was based on the length of time since his last exam. “But I’m glad he came in, especially as he was experiencing no symptoms. Being able to identify that blockage, get him to where he needed to be, and help him recover allows Morgan to continue to live the healthiest life possible for years to come.”
St. James’ cardiology team is equipped to do echos, ECGs, implantable loop recorders, pacemakers, stress tests, angiograms, and cardiac stents. With one of the only tilt tables Montana, that helps record your blood pressure, heart rhythm, and heart rate to help monitor vitals of those who experience fainting, St. James continues to provide necessary cardiac services to the Butte community.
For questions or to learn more, see Intermountain Health Heart and Vascular Care.
About Intermountain Health
Headquartered in Utah with locations in six states and additional operations across the western U.S., Intermountain Health is a nonprofit system of 33 hospitals, over 400 clinics, medical groups with some 4,600 employed physicians and advanced care providers, a health plans division called Select Health with more than one million members, and other health services. Helping people live the healthiest lives possible, Intermountain is committed to improving community health and is widely recognized as a leader in transforming healthcare by using evidence-based best practices to consistently deliver high-quality outcomes at sustainable costs. For up-to-date information and announcements, please see the Intermountain Health newsroom at https://news.intermountainhealth.org/.
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Original Press Release.
