Story with a ‘really good ending’ leads to a push for cardiac-health awareness

Jesse Moore comes to the matter of cardiovascular care from a number of perspectives.

First, there’s his own experience with cardiac issues that, a few months ago, led to open-heart surgery. Then there’s his family history: His mother and only daughter both died as a result of heart attacks. Finally, as a donor to IU Health Foundation and a member of the IU Health West Region board, he is quick to laud the work the system does for the sake of cardiovascular health.

With those perspectives and a natural inclination toward advocacy, Moore recently felt it was his duty to tell his story and, as he puts it, to “preach” about the need – especially in the Black community – for vigilance when it comes to heart health.

“I’m sure there are a lot of medical stories that can be told,” said Moore, who recently retired after 13 years as Purdue University’s first Director of Supplier Diversity. “This one, in my case, had a really good ending. I expect a full recovery. At 78 years old, it could have been a different story very quickly.”

Moore’s own heart health has been a concern for some time. Because he lost his mother and daughter to heart attacks – his mother back in 1975 and his daughter just seven years ago – and because he is vigilant about his overall health, for years he has been tracking a problematic valve and an abdominal aortic aneurysm.

While he had known he would need surgery for the valve at some point, his cardiologist, Dr. Bing Wu, recently said the time had come. Moore was in the process of scheduling the surgery at IU Health Methodist Hospital when things got accelerated.

“That was not the way fate wanted it to happen,” he said. Instead, in the course of a regularly scheduled medical exam, his general practitioner, Dr. Grainne O’Malley, found that his blood pressure was extremely low. She sent Moore to the emergency room. A few days later, on Sept. 10, Dr. Kyle Yancy performed surgery to repair Moore’s heart valve.

It was only a few days after the surgery that Moore began to feel the need to share his story as a way to encourage others to take their heart health seriously. In this drive, he wants to deliver a couple of messages.

First, he urges everyone to get regular check-ups, even if they feel healthy. Start young and see your doctor at least once a year. A lot of heart issues can be found through regular check-ups, and early detection saved lives.

Second, he counsels everyone to know their family history and make sure their doctors know it, too, a point he emphasizes for the Black community. “There are people in the Black community that don’t know about the history of their family, because we have tendency of not talking about that,” he said. “We should be shouting that from the mountain tops, so that all of our kids and grandkids and nephews and nieces know that there are some issues they should notify their family doctor about.”

A veteran of lobbying, economic development and other work with the Indianapolis Black Chamber of Commerce as well as the state and Indianapolis chambers of commerce, Moore is happy to serve as an advocate for good health but also for the organization that he sees delivering it in his community and state. As a regional board member, Moore said, he gets to see some of the inner workings of the IU Health system, and he is continually impressed, but also aware that much of what IU Health does is only possible because of donor support.

“This is not a freebie,” said Moore, who plans to continue to monitor his aneurysm regularly. “We need help from the community to fund some of the services that are made available through IU Health Arnett.”

That’s why Moore gives to IU Health Foundation and serves on the West Region board, and why he urges others to step up to give and engage.

“If you believe in something, you should support it the best you can, whether that’s with time, talent or dollars,” he said.

For Moore, it’s a message that truly comes from the heart.