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 of heart disease. You’ll also learn whether a calcium scoring CT scan is recommended for you. stjosephtowson.com | spring 2013 9 http://www.sjheartaware.com http://www.stjosephtowson.com

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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