House Call - Summer 2012 - (Page 7)

Once his heart was shocked back electric shocks through his chest to life, it started ﬂooding his brain with an external deﬁbrillator. with fresh oxygen, putting him at “Hearing paramedics’ radio reports risk of a dangerous biochemical to the Emergency Department chain reaction. If left unchecked, the made me even more nervous,” brain ﬁres with increased electrical says Silvia, who rode with Raﬁ in activity, inﬂammation revs up and the ambulance. “I’ll never forget untold numbers of brain cells begin hearing them say, ‘We revived him.’ to self-destruct. And that his heart was shocked Raﬁ Matti’s treatment included therapeutic But therapeutic hypothermia 13 times.” hypothermia, where the body temperature is cooled to prevent damage to brain tissue. can prevent this, and Raﬁ was forEvery second counted from the tunate to be at Midland, one of only moment paramedics rushed Raﬁ a few hospitals in Texas that offer it. During the procedure, into Midland’s Emergency Department to the moment blood the patient’s body temperature is chilled about six degrees ﬂow could be restored to his heart in the cardiac catheterizaFahrenheit—using cold intravenous saline, cooling blankets or tion lab, a crucial period called “door to balloon time.” The ice packs. After a 24-hour wait, the patient’s body is gradually faster that heart attack patients get into a cath lab, the better rewarmed as everyone crosses their ﬁngers. their chances for survival—and full recovery, studies show. “When Raﬁ woke up, we knew he responded well. No brain Joint guidelines from the American College of Cardiology damage or nerve damage,” says Silvia, who can never forget and American Heart Association call for door-to-balloon times her ﬁrst sign that her husband had survived a near-fatal heart of 90 minutes or less. Paramedics and Midland’s emergency attack. His ﬁrst words to her were “I love you.” and cardiac team allowed less than 60 minutes to elapse from That was one of many heartwarming moments at Midland, the time paramedics rushed Raﬁ to the hospital to the time where Raﬁ and Silvia were ﬂooded with unexpected kindnesses, his blocked artery was opened with a stent during a from a pastor who never left Silvia’s side to hospital staff who balloon angioplasty. collected money to cover the cost of her meals and even offered their homes as a place to stay, take a shower or do laundry. Slowing Down the Storm “God bless those people,” says Raﬁ, who will always feel But once Raﬁ’s blocked artery was opened, the danger was far grateful for the skilled and fast-acting Midland Memorial team from over. When cardiac arrest stopped his blood’s circulation, that saved his life. 1 the brain became the ﬁrst organ in his body to crave oxygen. Protect Your Young Athlete It’s a statistic that can strike fear in the heart of any parent: Each year an estimated 66 young athletes suﬀer from sudden cardiac death, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But the good news is, many of the deaths can be prevented through heart screenings, such as the ones oﬀered free of charge during the Championship Heart Saver event at Midland Memorial Hospital on July 14. Held from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., the screening for young athletes ages 14 to 18 includes a 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) and a limited 2-D echocardiogram, a combo that can detect hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, the most common cause of sudden cardiac death in athletes in the United States. ATTEND THE CHAMPIONSHIP HEART SAVER EVENT—JULY 14 To ﬁnd out more about the free 20-minute screening and to enroll your child, go to championshipheartsfoundation.eventbrite.com. WOWED by service at Midland? Tell us about it at midland-memorial.com/survey/bravo.aspx 7 http://championshipheartsfoundation.eventbrite.com http://www.midland-memorial.com/survey/bravo.aspx

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of House Call - Summer 2012

House Call - Summer 2012
Highlights of Our Annual Report
Health Tips for Dads and Kids
A Happy Landing

House Call - Summer 2012