A Heart Beat Away: The Cardiac Emergency Team

Like any other work day, Dennis Lue was on top of a ladder getting ready to begin his day when suddenly he began to perspire uncontrollably. Without warning, he began to feel nauseous and felt a dull pain in his chest. Dennis called to inform his wife, Shirley, a member of Washington Adventist Hospital’s Medical Staff Services team, that he was heading to the Emergency Room. On the phone, Shirley urged him to go to Washington Adventist Hospital, but Dennis chose to go to another hospital closer to home.

At the Emergency Department, a physician assured Dennis that he was not having a heart attack but confirmed that there was a problem with his heart. Shirley rushed to her husband’s side and called Dr. Sridhar Chatrathi, a Cardiologist at Washington Adventist Hospital.

Dr. Jan Dixon-Webber was contacted by Dr. Chatrathi and rushed to examine Dennis further and discovered that he had aortic dissection, a life threatening condition.

Dr. Dixon-Webber summoned a helicopter for Dennis to be transferred to Washington Adventist Hospital. Simultaneously, Dr. Chatrathi, at Washington Adventist Hospital, activated the hospital’s cardiac emergency team in preparation for Dennis’ arrival.

Upon Dennis’ admission, Dr. Chatrathi visualized the damaged aorta using a trans-esophageal echocardiogram (TEE), which allowed him to describe the exact location of the damage to Dr. Anjum Qazi, a Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgeon at Washington Adventist Hospital who specializes in complex heart operations.

Dennis was rushed to the operating room where Dr. Qazi began the complex task of repairing the lining of Dennis’ aorta and the leaking aortic valve. To begin repairing the tear, Dennis’ heart was put on the Heart Lung machine and the heart was stopped to allow the repair to be accomplished. The aortic valve was repaired by resuspending its attachments, which made the valve stop leaking. The split layers of the aortic wall were repaired with a special glue and a stent was used to hold it in place. “The lining is very delicate and tears easily in people with connective tissue diseases, a condition associated with aortic dissection. Imagine trying to sew wet tissue paper onto a wet noodle and we have to move fast because the longer the patient is without oxygen, the greater the risk of suffering brain damage,” Dr. Qazi explains.

The surgery was a success. Dennis spent the next day and a half in Washington Adventist Hospital’s Cardiac Intensive Care Unit under the watchful eye of cardiac critical care physicians and nurses. Seven days after surgery, Dennis was discharged and he returned to work just six weeks later.

“After 17 years at my previous job, I can’t help but think there was some higher purpose in my decision to accept a job at Washington Adventist Hospital,” says Shirley.

To monitor your heart condition, call 1-800-542-5096 to register for our Heart Healthy Screenings.