Mary Ellen McGonigle got an unpleasant surprise while undergoing preparation work for knee surgery.

She had an 80 percent blockage in one of the arteries in her heart.

Even though the Hermitage woman felt fine and wasn't anticipating heart surgery, she was still an educated and savvy patient. She said she learned about a new type of stent from a friend who needed surgery. A stent is a tiny coil-like object that is inserted in arteries to keep blood flowing freely.

Mrs. McGonigle said she "gingerly" told Dr. James Landis Jr., cardiologist and medical director of The Heart Institute, that she would have to go elsewhere if she could not get the new stent at Sharon Regional.