Ken Simpson was a nationally ranked high school All American swimmer, which earned him an athletic scholarship to the University of Illinois. But it wasn’t until many years after his college graduation that he first experienced heart problems which would come and go over the next 50 or so years.
“I spent almost my entire business career with the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company in Chicago,” Ken says. “One day while at work, I felt a strange feeling in my chest I had never had before. I didn’t know what it was, but I knew something wasn’t quite right.”
The Wrigley family separately owned the Chicago Cubs baseball team at that time. Ken was sent to see a team doctor familiar with working with accomplished athletes. He was prescribed a heart monitor to wear for a month, but no irregularities were found.
In his late 20s, Ken began swimming in the national Masters Swimming Program for adults. During one competition, the strange feeling in his chest returned.
“It wasn’t a flutter or skipped heartbeat, but more like a thunderous steady heartbeat,’’ he explains. I decided I wasn’t going to live my life being afraid of a heart condition which apparently couldn’t be diagnosed, so I swam my race, winning it. By the time I got out of the pool, the strange heartbeat was gone.”
Another heart monitor again showed no irregularity, but Ken was convinced something was wrong. He began seeing a cardiologist and continued to be checked periodically.
As the years passed, Ken’s condition gradually worsened. “In my mid-40s, my cardiologist removed a blood clot at the top of my left anterior descending artery. I was fortunate I survived the procedure.”
“Several years later, after a day-long business meeting in Chicago, I found I couldn’t walk to the train station without stopping several times. I knew I wasn’t going to make it to the station. It was obvious something was very wrong.”
An emergency room EKG first identified Ken’s condition. He was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, a type of irregular heartbeat, not caused by a heart valve problem. His cardiologist immediately prescribed Eliquis to reduce the increased risk of stroke that patients with Ken’s condition face.
“Now I take my Eliquis religiously. Every morning and every night. I make sure I don’t miss a dose,” Ken says.
For this now-retired businessperson, the saying “Sell the benefits, not the product” is more than just advice on how to sell successfully.
“No matter what the product, what’s most important are the benefits it provides to the user,” Ken says. “The benefits I’ve received from Eliquis are greater peace of mind, and the ability to continue to live a full life with my loved ones.” ⬣