Dr. Puckett when he was at Vanderbilt in 1951
It's with great sadness to learn of the recent death of one of Chattanooga's finest heart doctors, Dr. Walter Puckett III. Dr. Puckett and his wife Linda enjoyed downtown Chattanooga and would often be seen walking, at a brisk pace, up and down Market Street.
The noted cardiologist said, “Walking is good for the heart. Find a partner and start walking every day.”
This writer will miss our conversations at the Epicurean and Southern Star restaurants where he and his wife Linda were regular diners.
For years I'd see Dr. Puckett at the Longhorn Restaurant on North Market Street and he's shared lots of stories with those of us gathered for coffee and breakfast. Dr. Puckett enjoyed Southern fried chicken and French fried potatoes. I'd tease him about eating fried chicken and french fries and Dr. Puckett's response, "One less day in the nursing home."
Dr. Puckett was a graduate of the Vanderbilt School of Medicine in 1955, specializing in cardiovascular disease. He practiced over 65 years mostly in Chattanooga.
In 2011, Erlanger announced the dedication of the new "Walter Puckett, M.D. Bi-Plane Imaging Suite."
At the time, it was said that Dr. Puckett, a member of UT Erlanger Cardiology, had dedicated 47 years to the treatment of heart patients at Erlanger and served as chief of cardiology at Erlanger for more than 10 years. Dr. Puckett was earlier honored for both his leadership efforts in Erlanger’s fundraising campaign on behalf of a new bi-plane Cath lab, in addition to his longstanding impact on the health of the Tri-State community.
Erlanger’s bi-plane equipment is used to perform invasive cardiology and peripheral vascular procedures in babies, children and adults. Bi-plane imaging offers a higher level of interventional heart care to diagnose and treat complex congenital heart disease and heart defects.
The technology also serves a vital role for children because it allows multiple images to be taken with just a single dose of injected contrast, greatly reducing the level of risk to a child’s kidneys. Invasive procedures are performed by cardiologists specifically trained to treat newly-born infants to adults.
For older adults and children, the benefit also features two, independently-rotating cameras to capture moving, real-time pictures of the heart; this new imaging technology provides crystal clear images to help guide the cardiologist through intricate procedures.
A plaque in Erlanger’s new imaging suite reads, "Always the relentless patient advocate, Dr. Puckett inspired the community to advance cardiac care for the region’s most fragile hearts."
Carolyn Masters Wooten, who worked with Dr. Puckett, said, “My heart is hurting. I worked with him in Erlanger Radiology in doing heart cath procedure for many years. We all loved him so much. We were just starting doing them and we worked very carefully making sure to document all we learned. It was a wonderful time knowing we helped heart patients find out what could be done in surgery to help them live on. I have been retired for many years and am proud of Dr. Puckett taking us on to what improvements there are today. Prayers for family and many friends."