Dad and Doc and Me

Michael Rosenthal

Publisher

Dr. Nicholas V. Diaco & Carl Rosenthal during treadmill test

   My dad called and said he wasn't feeling well and wanted to see his doctor, his cardiologist to be exact. I was immediately alarmed because the last he saw him, it was in an ambulance.

   He had been taken to Downey Community hospital when he complained of shortness of breath and chest pains. And the color was draining out of him. He was stabilized and doctors attending him recommended Angioplasty, an invasive procedure in which they run a balloon through your veins along with a dye to determine whether you’re a candidate for open heart surgery. He decided then and there, even in his sedated and exhausted condition, that he wanted to be transferred to St. Johns Medical Center, where he saw a prominent Santa Monica cardiologist, Dr. Nicholas V. Diaco.

   Now, three years later, we were in the offices of Cardiology Consultants of Santa Monica and my father was preparing for his treadmill test. Helping him was a cheerful, laugh at our jokes, sweet woman named June. My dad bantered with her while she shaved and bathed his chest to insure good contact during the test. June had lived in Santa Monica and worked in the medical firm for seven years. She appeared to have done thousands of these tests.

   When we left the prep room for the test room, we had to wait at the door for traffic to subside. It felt like the intersection of Wilshire and 20th, where the building incidentally was located. But, clearly, my father was in good hands.

   Pop was now wired for sound. About 20 lines were glued to his chest, all streaming out and in to a machine that I presumed would tell us everything we needed to know about his condition. All we needed now was Dr. Diaco, who soon arrived. Dad and the doctor chatted for a few minutes, getting reacquainted. Lawyer jokes flew, stress subsided and Dr. Diaco had my dad walking -- fast I might add -- before he even knew it. This was extraordinary in itself, because my dad believes in Satchel Paige's old saying: Never run when you can walk, never walk when you can sit and never sit when you can lie down.

   I can barely get him to walk to my house which is only four doors down from his house. Nevertheless, he was motivated and , boy, did he move. The heart rate had to get up to 130 and Dr. Diaco was coaching and encouraging him. He seemed pleased with the results, but just knowing a doctor had to be in the room caused me some concern.

   All went well, my dad, though out of breath, passed the test with flying colors. Diaco was pleased with the results. Naturally, my father was feeling his oats and asked Diaco if he could take Viagra four times a day? He kept a straight face and said sure. This, from a man who has done over 20,000 Angioplasties in the course of his work. His medical group was the first in the Los Angeles area to use stents during angioplasty versus surgery. They helped make St. John’s one of the leading heart procedure hospitals in California.

   Dr. Diaco is currently the Director of the Heart Catheterization Lab at St. Johns Hospital. His career began back in Philadelphia and included a stint as a flight surgeon during the Vietnam War. He was stationed at Ubon Thailand, near the Laotian border and was awarded a commendation medal after his tour of duty. He chose to go in to cardiology because at the time he began, the field was exploding with new procedures and techniques. Now with these new techniques, less then 10% of patients require surgery. New procedures now use something called a plethysmography device. Look for it at doctor’s office near you soon! It’s an out-patient, non-invasive procedure.

   When he is not tending to patients, Dr. Diaco plays golf at Riviera Country Club, checks in on his identical (even more so today, he says) twin brother who is the physician for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, spends time with his wife and two daughters and eats at his favorite west side restaurants-JiRaffe, One Pico, and Michael’s.