Published: June 2, 2026
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
When Terry Griffis laced up his running shoes last August, he had no reason to believe anything was wrong with his heart.
The Jeffersonville, Indiana, resident had just turned 60 and was doing what he’d done for years: training, racing and staying active. He ran regularly, ate well and had no chest pain, no shortness of breath and no warning signs that heart disease was quietly building inside his body.
“I was winning my age group in races,” Terry said. “I felt great.”
What started as a routine annual physical with his Norton Community Medical Associates primary care provider turned into a discovery that may have saved his life.
At that appointment, Terry’s cholesterol numbers were slightly elevated — nothing unusual for him. A runner who logs hundreds of miles a year, he had always managed borderline numbers through diet and exercise and was hesitant to start a statin medication. His provider, Melissa S. Hardin, APRN, suggested an additional screening: a CT calcium score, a quick scan that measures plaque buildup in the coronary arteries.
“I figured I’d go in, get a zero score, and move on,” Terry said.
Instead, the test revealed a calcium score of 975, a level that immediately raised concern. Follow‑up imaging pushed that number even higher, over 1,000, and further testing showed severe blockages in multiple arteries — despite the fact that Terry had never felt a single symptom.
Within weeks, he was referred to and seen by William R. Schmidt II, M.D., interventional cardiologist with Norton Heart & Vascular Institute. A heart catheterization confirmed the severity of the disease: three arteries with more than 90% blockage.
“This kept snowballing,” Terry said. “I went from thinking I might need a stent to being told I needed bypass surgery.”
Last December, Terry underwent five‑vessel coronary artery bypass surgery at Norton Audubon Hospital, performed by Steven W. Etoch, M.D., cardiothoracic surgeon with Norton Heart & Vascular Institute. Just days later, he was walking the hospital halls. By the end of the week, he was home.
“I was walking the next day,” he said. “Surgery on Monday, home by Friday. The care was unbelievable.”
The diagnosis was shocking, but the explanation was clear. Terry’s mother died suddenly of a heart attack at age 59. Genetics, doctors explained, had stacked the deck against him.
“You can’t outrun genetics,” Terry said. “Running probably bought me time — maybe 10 or 15 years — but it didn’t make me immune.”
What followed surprised even Terry.
By February, just two months after surgery, he completed a 5K race. Soon after, he ran additional races and resumed structured training. In April, he ran the Humana Kentucky Derby Festival miniMarathon, just four months after undergoing open heart surgery.
“I don’t feel better now,” Terry said. “And that’s the strange part. I never felt bad before. I was asymptomatic. That’s what makes this so scary.”
His story underscores a critical message: Heart disease doesn’t always announce itself.
“People assume if they’re active and feel fine, they’re safe,” Terry said. “I was living proof that’s not always true.”
His recovery has been steady and closely monitored. Follow‑up electrocardiograms and imaging have shown encouraging results. Today, his follow‑ups are infrequent, and he tracks his heart rate carefully as he trains — often using the same smartwatch he once relied on only for pace and mileage.
“Being fit going into surgery made a huge difference,” he said. “But I also know not everyone is that lucky.”
Running has been part of Terry’s life for decades. After returning to the sport seriously in 2010, he gradually increased his mileage, eventually logging more than 1,400 miles in a single year. He’s completed marathons in New York City (2022), Indianapolis (2023) and Chicago (2024), and narrowly missed a Boston Marathon cutoff, which he plans to requalify for.
In January of last year — months before his diagnosis — he even completed a 50‑mile ultramarathon on Catalina Island in California.
“That’s how big a surprise this was,” he said. “I was racing, winning, training hard. I had no clue.”
There are moments now, however, when the weight of what happened breaks through his forward‑focused mindset. One came recently during a work trip, as his plane lifted off from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport.
“I looked down and saw Norton Audubon Hospital,” he said. “I could picture exactly where I was. That hit me. From the providers to cardiologists to ICU [intensive care unit] and PCU [progressive care unit] nursing staffs, I’m only here because of the people who took care of me. They put the care in healthcare.”
As for the miniMarathon, Terry said his goal wasn’t a personal record — it was perspective.
“Just being there is the win,” he said.
His message to others, especially fellow runners, is simple: Don’t assume fitness equals immunity.
“I was extremely lucky,” he said. “This was caught proactively. If it hadn’t been, I might not be here. And that’s something I’ll never forget.”
To learn the signs, reduce your risk and find innovative cardiology care, visit NortonHeartCare.com.