On Father’s Day, June 21, 2020, Tony sparred at Texarkana Combat Sports with former Marine, Jake Hannaford. Healthy and active, Tony had no idea that there was anything wrong with his heart until approximately three weeks after this photo was taken when he had the first episode with his heart.

Tony McMurry is full of heart. He is passionate about his family, job, health, and overall well-being. He lives a healthy lifestyle and is very active in martial arts. Even though Tony was perceived as a seemingly healthy 50-year-old, he had to undergo triple bypass cardiovascular surgery in the fall of 2020. Thanks to a thorough screening at Arkansas Heart Hospital’s Keep the Beat Clinic in Little Rock, he was spared a major health crisis. Heart issues are prevalent in Tony’s family such as the body not making enough good cholesterol, and his grandfather, father, and brother have had strokes and/or heart disease.

*Tony at Arkansas Heart Hospital, on September 11, 2020, two days after his triple bypass surgery.*

Tony works out regularly, and having been an amateur boxer, he enjoys the programs at Texarkana Combat Sports. Here, he practices both Mixed Martial Arts and Jiu Jitsu. He has been involved in martial arts for many years and has achieved various belts as well as referee training. Tony has been employed with Cooper Tire for 33 years and has worked in a variety of settings, some of which were under strenuous circumstances. Due to his size and strength, in the summer of 2020, Tony was working in his position at Cooper in the curing department where he had been for 12 years. This is where the tires are sprayed and inspected. He states how hot it can get in there, often reaching 130-140 degrees. Tony was also participating in martial arts for two hours several days a week.

Tony began experiencing mild chest pains and specifically recalls July 10 when he was taking a break from work. He was working his usual shift which was 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. He noticed that his back and neck hurt, he had shoulder pain, and his breathing became labored. He was concerned about this and kept an eye on it, requesting that he be put on light duty at work. Here, he was relocated to the Tire Room in stock recovery, where he gathered scrap steel belt and liner ply for discarding and often operated a forklift. He was advised to rest, and even after doing so, the chest pains and hyperventilation continued. He had hoped to remain at Cooper for a few more years but knew that any physical stress of his job could be contributing to his health. He went to get a stress test at CHRISTUS St. Michael Health System after seeing his primary care physician. He experienced some tightness in his chest and labored breathing during the test but according to the results, his heart function was normal, and there seemed to be no issue. Tony had been on some blood pressure and cholesterol medication but his weight was down due to his healthy diet and working out.

*Tony enjoyed spending Christmas 2019 with his daughter, Martti, and son, Logan.*

Tony’s wife, Kim, had encouraged him to begin a vegan diet five years ago and for a self-proclaimed “meat and potatoes” guy, Tony admits how much better his numbers were so he could decrease the meds as well as having lost 59 pounds within 11 months of changing his diet. By the next month, he was working, and the chest pains ensued. Even with lighter and more comfortable working conditions and recent stress test, he was very concerned about how he would get out of breath so frequently.

A friend recommended that Tony go to Arkansas Heart Hospital where the Keep the Beat Clinic conducted rigorous screening for heart health. He was able to get an appointment on September 1, 2020, and after tests and scans, he was notified that his assessment number was 579. Anything over 400 was serious so Tony was told he needed to undergo more tests. It was then discovered that he had blockage in three out of four arteries, and triple bypass surgery was needed.

*Visiting with his 4-month-old grandson, Luka, this past Christmas definitely put a smile on Tony’s face.*

Tony and Kim were surprised to learn this and came back to Texarkana to prepare for surgery the following week. On September 9, his bypass surgery was completed at Arkansas Heart Hospital. Tony did well during the surgery and remembers very little while he was in recovery but notes that his wife had waited a very long time in the waiting room since over 24 hours had passed until he was in a room. He spent four days in the hospital and was told to get up and walk rather quickly. After he was discharged and able to return to Texarkana, he had rehabilitation exercises to do, primarily cardiac and respiratory ones, so that he didn’t develop a pulmonary embolism in his lungs. He did, in fact, develop a blood clot in his right leg shortly after the surgery, and thanks to another friend’s urging, checked that out in time to avoid another potential problem. Tony was off of work and restricted from any strenuous activity for three months.

*Tony with daughter, Martti, in 2017 when she received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from The University of Texas in Arlington.*

Tony is grateful for his swift recovery and for the assessment at Keep the Beat Clinic for averting what could have been a deadly heart attack. “This program without a doubt saved my life,” he states. By the start of 2021, Tony was happily back enjoying martial arts and returned to work. He is currently working in the Tire Room in the detread department. He is mindful of his heart rate and other issues such as anemia, sleep apnea, and sports-induced asthma for which he uses an inhaler.

Tony enjoys his grown children, three small grandchildren, and is simply eager to enjoy life. He sees his cardiologist every six months for routine visits and feels just great. He says, “I have a shirt that says, ‘Attack Life, It’s gonna kill you anyway!’ That’s the way I choose to live. I will continue to ride my motorcycle, travel, go to concerts, go to fights, and train MMA and Jiu Jitsu at Texarkana Combat Sports. I’m not gonna let a little heart surgery stop me.”

Tony’s message to others who experience any heart-related episodes is to be proactive and get checked out, especially if you have a family history of coronary artery disease. “Don’t think just because you eat healthy, you exercise regularly, that everything is great,” he encourages. “There are too many influences that can affect your health. And medical technology is too good, not to take advantage of, for detection and prevention.”

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Full of Heart