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Timothy’s Story

Timothy, heart failure patient

Timothy, heart failure patient

Timothy was relaxing at home in January 2007 with his wife and granddaughter when he experienced severe chest pain. “It felt like my chest was in a vice,” he recalls. Timothy jokes, “I had just started watching the Patriots-Denver game, but that had nothing to do with it.”

He took two aspirin and called 911. At the hospital, his heart stopped pumping. “They had to put the paddles on me to get me going,” Timothy says. He survived a rare cardiac occurrence – a heart attack followed shortly by sudden cardiac arrest (SCA).

Timothy was lucky to be in the hospital when he experienced his sudden cardiac arrest event. Only about five percent of people survive SCA without emergency medical assistance within six minutes1. Doctors at the hospital delivered an electrical shock - a process called defibrillation – to his heart to restore a normal heartbeat. They then placed a stent to open his blocked artery.

Heart Attack Creates Health Risk

Timothy’s heart attack permanently damaged his heart muscle, leaving him feeling weak. He began cardiac rehabilitation, but his energy level did not improve. Timothy’s doctor explained that the two lower chambers of his heart were not pumping in a coordinated way. His ejection fraction or “EF” – a measure of how well his heart was pumping blood – was approximately 32 percent. A healthy heart has an EF between 50% and 75%. This would indicate that the heart is pumping well and is able to deliver enough blood to the body and brain. People with a low EF at 35% or below are at an increased risk of SCA.

Timothy’s poorly pumping heart and low EF placed him at high risk for developing dangerously fast heart rhythms and another episode for SCA. His doctor recommended cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) device with defibrillation. This implanted heart device helps coordinate or “sync” the heart’s pumping action and detects and treats dangerously fast heart rhythms.

Back to Work – On and Off the Job

Timothy had a Medtronic heart device implanted in June 2007. A month later, he returned to work. He quickly jumped back into his active lifestyle. “I try to walk every night, or a least three or four nights a week,” he says. 

Then there was the house project. After his sister-in-law’s contractor went “belly up,” she was left with a barely started home. Timothy and other family members pitched in to help.

Since getting his heart device, Timothy says he’s feeling stronger: “When I first did a stress test after the cardiac arrest, I was really weak. Last time I felt great on a treadmill.” Equally important is the peace of mind he feels knowing that his heart device will detect and treat abnormal heart rhythms. Device therapy results may vary, and patients should talk to their doctors about the benefits and risk of device therapy.

References

  1. Capucci A., Aschieri D., Massimo F., et al. Tripling Survival from Sudden Cardiac Arrest via Early Detection without Traditional Education in Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation, Circulation 2002:106:1065-1070: originally published Aug 5, 2002.

This story reflects one person's experience. Not every person will receive the same results. Talk to your doctor about your treatment options.

Last updated: 22 Sep 2010

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