Maryland's Health Matters - St. Joseph - Spring 2013 - (Page 9)
Stanley Macek, pictured here with his wife, Jennifer, has
normal heart function after a biventricular defibrillator
was implanted.
heart, but it will shock the heart out of lethal arrhythmias.” The
latter is very important, because, as he adds, “Stanley is at risk of
sudden cardiac death because of his prior heart attacks. The defibrillator is capable of saving his life. People with decreased heart function are at high risk of cardiac death.”
“Dr. Sun successfully restored blood circulation to Mr. Macek’s
heart, which effectively improved his breathing and alleviated
his chest pain, but despite this fantastic care, it didn’t return his
heart function back to normal. The only remaining therapy to get
the heart functioning more normally is a biventricular pacemaker
defibrillator,” notes Dr. Roberts.
How tHE DEFibRillatoR woRks
The biventricular defibrillator has three leads instead of two
with the standard pacemaker. The pacemaker is inserted under
the skin below the collarbone. The procedure takes place in the
cardiac catheterization laboratory under sedation.
“We implant one lead into the atrium, another into the right
ventricle, and the extra lead goes into a vein that runs behind
the heart’s left ventricle,” says Dr. Roberts. An electric current
travels from the pacemaker through the leads to synchronize the
left and right ventricles to pump together.
stanlEy anD JEnniFER’s takE
Having the new pacemaker implanted “was a piece of cake,”
according to Stanley. “I feel like a new man.”
Not only was the advanced technology impressive to the
Maceks but so were the quality of Stanley’s care and the attention Jennifer received during the stress of Stanley’s illness.
“Dr. Sun and Dr. Roberts are very patient and explained
everything very thoroughly to me,” Jennifer says. “The nurses
were wonderful. They came out to the waiting area and updated
me. They were very personal.
“I’m the one who does the worrying,” Jennifer admits. “We’ve
been married 53 years, and we’d like to be together much longer.”
Take a Free Online HearT risk assessmenT
The HeartAware® quiz is available at sjheartaware.com and
takes just seven minutes. Receive a personalized, confidential report, along with recommendations to reduce your risk
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stjosephtowson.com | spring 2013
9
http://www.sjheartaware.com
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Maryland's Health Matters - St. Joseph - Spring 2013
Maryland's Health Matters - St. Joseph - Spring 2013
Contents
A Healthy Start
A Joint Effort
New Lease on Life
The Breath of Life
News and Events
Maryland's Health Matters - St. Joseph - Spring 2013
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