Christie and Abbie Driscoll woke up excited. It was the morning of Abbie's graduation from Charlotte Catholic High School in May. They headed out to shop for a few last-minute things, leaving Abbie’s 14-year-old brother, William, still in bed.
William was sound asleep when he thought he heard a thump in the bathroom nearby. He wandered over to investigate and found his dad, David, collapsed on the floor. William called his mom in a panic: Dad won’t wake up.
Christie shouted to call 911, then called a neighbor for help. By the time Christie and Abbie arrived at home, their front yard was filled with paramedics, firefighters and police officers.
David had suffered sudden cardiac arrest. His heart had stopped beating due to an electrical malfunction in the heart. About 365,000 incidences of sudden cardiac arrest happen in the U.S. annually and 90% of victims don't survive, according to the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation.
David was one of the 10% – thanks to his quick-thinking son, a neighbor trained in CPR, and the diligent work of Dr. Philip Lee, cardiologist at Novant Health Heart & Vascular Institute - Elizabeth.
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Paramedics search for a pulse
At 50, David had a stressful job as a criminal defense attorney. His dad and grandfather both died from heart issues. David figured it would come for him eventually but didn’t realize he could have mapped out a prevention plan with a physician as early as his 20s or 30s. “I had a phobia of going to the doctor,” he said. “I didn’t want to deal with it or know the results.”
On graduation morning, the Driscoll family was fortunate that their neighbor started CPR immediately. Paramedics took over and tried to detect a pulse. Stunned, Christie and the kids watched as one minute ticked by, then the next, with David apparently lifeless on the floor. Finally, paramedics felt a faint pulse.
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They transported David to Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center. Christie and William raced to the hospital while Abbie left with her grandparents for graduation. A family friend called the school administration to let them know what was happening. The graduation ceremony included a prayer for David.
Meanwhile, Lee received the call from an emergency room colleague about the urgent case. The patient was unconscious, on a ventilator, with untreated high cholesterol. Combined with the family medical history, Lee suspected that David likely had “significant coronary artery disease, or blockage in the blood vessels. Everything pointed to that,” he said.
Lee wasn’t worried solely about David’s heart. The biggest concern was potential brain damage, given how long it had taken for paramedics to feel David’s pulse. “The brain is highly dependent on constant blood flow,” Lee explained. Without blood to the brain, patients can show signs within minutes of anoxic brain injury, or lack of oxygen to the brain.
In the cardiac catheterization lab, a heart cath procedure revealed severe blockage in multiple blood vessels. The treatment had to be aggressive to maximize David’s chance of recovery.
To remove the blockage, Lee’s colleague, Dr. Parampreet Vidwan, placed stents in two of David’s arteries that provide blood to the heart. Emergency medicine physician Dr. Josie Bowen was also a critical part of David’s care. “It was really a team effort,” Lee said.
Christie and William never made it to Abbie’s graduation. They watched it online, next to David’s bed, hoping he could hear it.
Watchful waiting
The stent surgery was successful. But David was still intubated and on life support. Now all the family could do was wait. They didn’t know when David would wake up, or if he might
show signs of brain injury. Lee asked Christie if she would like him to say a prayer over David, which she gratefully accepted. “I loved that about him,” Christie said.
When David opened his eyes several days later, he couldn’t remember anything about graduation morning but also showed no signs of brain injury. He spent a week in the hospital and wore a monitor for two weeks to make sure there were no irregular heartbeats, called arrhythmias.
Since then, he’s joined Novant Health’s cardiac rehab program for custom recommendations on diet, exercise including weight training and yoga, and strategies for mental well-being after a life-threatening event. David thinks of the facility as his gym now and appreciates the camaraderie with other heart patients. “It’s just fun to be there,” David says. “It’s just a really cool, positive environment.”
In some ways, David is building a new life now – one he believes will help him be there when William graduates from high school.
Have a family history of heart disease? Here’s what to do.
If your parents, grandparents or siblings have heart disease, you can be more prone to it, too. But you can take action to improve your health and prevent sudden cardiac arrest, according to Dr. Philip Lee, cardiologist at Novant Health Heart & Vascular Institute - Elizabeth.
No matter your age, talk with your primary care doctor about your family medical history. Whether you’re 21 or 61, your doctor needs to know your medical background, particularly if your relatives “had major cardiac complications at a younger age,” Lee said.
Get a physical and know your cholesterol levels. You can’t feel the effects of high cholesterol until something happens to your heart or brain. There’s even a genetic condition called familial hypercholesterolemia, in which people who are slender and athletic can have “sky high” cholesterol, Lee said. Find out your LDL and HDL cholesterol numbers. If there’s a problem, you can treat it with dietary changes and medication if needed.
Choose a heart-healthy Mediterranean diet. Vegetables, fruits, skinless poultry, oily fish like tuna and salmon, whole grains, beans and legumes will keep your heart happy. Talk with your doctor about the best weight for you. BMI, or body mass index, provides a reasonable start but Lee calls it a “crude instrument” that doesn’t take into account all factors.
Move your way to health. The American Heart Association recommends 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise each week. If a hectic day keeps you at your desk, it’s OK to make up the time on other days. Stand more, pedal at your desk with an elliptical machine, crank up some tunes and dance, or walk in your neighborhood. “Walking is a great aerobic exercise,” Lee said.
