Magnolia Matters - 2018 Fall/Winter

It was a normal morning for Josh Hodum, Pastor at Gospel Tabernacle in Corinth. He was enjoying the start to his day and time spent with his 4-year-old little boy when he began to experience extreme chest pain. Thinking that it was probably just a pulled muscle, he continued with his morning as usual. After prolonged and intensified pain, he decided that he needed to go see John W. Prather, MD, PhD, FACC, Cardiologist at Magnolia Cardiology Associates. After telling his wife and son what he was doing, and reassuring them that everything was OK, he made an appointment. It was just another check up appointment … or so he thought. Hodum was no stranger to Dr. Prather’s clinic. A year prior to this morning, he had gone in to have tests done and was issued a heart monitor and instructed to wear it for a period of time to make sure his heart was healthy. From the heart monitor data, the team at MRHC determined that he was showing signs of atrial fibrillation, also known as an irregular heartbeat. After his diagnosis, his life and health had been uneventful – the way we all wish for them to be. He had been healthy. On this particular morning, however, after calling to BACK in the PULPIT 2018 FALL/WINTER 20