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>> Tonight...
>> I could go about 100 feet maybe before I'd have to stop and rest I was breathing
so heavy. And I says, "Everything is gray."
>> An ABC27 special presentation.
>> The doctor basically said I had three months to live.
>> Penn State Hershey Heart & Vascular Institute presents Heart to Heart, brought to you by
Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.
>> Good evening I'm Chuck Rhodes. February is American heart month and although death
rates from heart disease have continued to decline over the past 10 years, coronary heart
disease remains the single leading cause of death in America and in 2010 heart disease
cost the United States more than 316 billion dollars, including the cost of health care
services, medications, and loss productivity. Now tonight specialists from Penn State Hershey
Heart & Vascular Institute are in the ABC$ 27 call center to answer your questions about
heart and vascular disease. And due to a technical problem our phone lines have changed. Now
we have a new number in there for you to call. The new number is 717-236-1444--that's 236-1444.
We'll share some of your questions during the show tonight, but keep in mind all of
your calls are confidential. Here now to begin we have Deborah Pinkerton to share one patient's
story with you.
>> Thanks Chuck. A Cumberland County man's heart was failing rapidly. Doctors said it
was only a matter of time before his heart stopped beating. It was a scary time for Tom
Schweitzer.
>> All aboard. This is the Polar Express.
>> Trains have been a part of 59-year old Tom Schweitzer's life since he was baby.
>> I was born October of 51. I probably had a train set that year for Christmas.
>> I don't know that he was two months old but I know that he was young. His father was
a train person too.
>> Now Tom is a lover of trains. He shares them with others.
>> There were about six guys that helped build this train.
>> For the past several years he and his friend set up this display in the Mechanicsburg Museum
around the Christmas holiday.
>> It's fun. You get a chance to see trains running with their [inaudible]. I like it.
It's fun.
>> Last year Tom couldn't enjoy this fun.
>> Well I was tired all the time. I could go about 100 feet maybe before I had to stop
and rest. I'd be ah hah, ah hah, ah hah like that for about 20 seconds or so and then go
another 100 feet.
>> He was obviously in bad shape. He couldn't get up the stairs very well. He did, he made
it but he didn't have much energy at all.
>> Tom's heart was to blame. He had heart problems for nearly 20 years. A defibrillator
and medication worked until now.
>> He had severe congestive heart failure, Class 4. We grade heart failure from 1 to
4 and he was essentially end-stage Class 4 heart failure. Their mortality, meaning the
risk of death over the next six months to a year, is extremely high.
>> The news stopped Tom in his tracks.
>> My left ventricle was shot. He said it's done, it's worn out, it can't pump anymore.
It was a little depressing. What can you say? But it is what it is. That's what it is and
you're worried about it isn't going to make it any different so I tried not to worry about
it.
>> But there was reason to worry. Essentially all medical options for his heart failure
treatment had been exhausted and we were left with assist devices as a potential--not care
for his heart failure but essential treatment for his heart failure.
>> The potential treatment, a left ventricular assist device, also known as the LVAD.
>> The patient has no other options. Either you're going to die or get an LVAD.
>> I never heard of it. I figured we may as well try this and see what it does.
>> In his case we used what's called a Heart and A2 Ventricular Assist Device and essentially
what it does is it takes over the function of his left ventricle, the left side of his
heart that pumps blood to his body thereby getting rid of his heart failure symptoms.
>> After a five-hour operation Tom was given hope. He spent weeks in the hospital and at
Rehab Centers.
>> I actually felt better and then once I got up and actually exercised and did this
rehab for about a month and started walking, I said hey there's light at the end of the
tunnel.
>> He is doing very well. He is starting to enjoy his life again. He is starting to live
again. He is starting to be mobile. As you can imagine, before his operation he was not
able to do anything.
>> Now I come and go when I want and you've just got to be careful about this thing and
make sure you take extra batteries and equipment with you but that's it.
>> I thank God for the way he is today and for what they're able to do for these people.
>> Tom's goal is to lose about 30 pounds so he will be eligible for a heart transplant.
>> We put the device on him to allow him to lose weight, allow him to get back to normal
and we're hoping that with the help of the system, he will be able to manage his risk
factors to allow us to put him on the waiting list for heart transplantation.
>> I never figured I'd make it to 70 or 80 years old but who knows now. The goal is if
I get a transplant I'm going to go back out to round-top skiing.
>> And Tom is much closer to reaching his goal. He only needs to lose 20 pounds in order
to quality for a heart transplant. Tom has lived with this LVAD for more than a year
and he says he has not had any problems with it. He sees doctors there at the Med Center
on a regular basis to make sure it's working properly. Back to you Chuck.
>> Thank you Deborah. Now joining me in the studio the doctor that operated on Tom, Dr.
Ted Stevenson. Doctor he seems to be doing well. What's the latest on him?
>> He's actually doing fantastic. He's lost over 100 pounds of weight so far, he's back
to his normal activities, he's spending time with his family and friends and he is really
doing a remarkable job. The ventricular assist device is working perfectly and he's had no
complications from the device at all.
>> Okay well that was an example of using the LVAD device as a destination therapy.
How else can that device be used?
>> Originally this LVAD was used for a bridge to transplant, meaning having somebody that's
really sick, supported until their heart transplant. Now we've been using them as destination therapy
meaning that it really is the end of their surgical options. But heart transplantation
still its main indication.
>> Well how is that decision made to be given this device or to be put on the transplant
list?
>> Yes there is an extensive medical workup and what happens is if people are not a candidate
for transplantation, they can be considered for a destination device. If they are a candidate
for transplantation and their heart is failing too rapidly, we can use this device to get
them to a heart transplant.
>> Now what's the recovery time? It sounds like that would be something very long.
>> Actually recovery time is pretty quick. The hospitalization is around two or three
weeks and in about two or three months, people are back to their normal activities and start
to feel almost 100% like themselves.
>> Thank you for now doctor and let's check in with Deborah back at the call center and
see what kind of calls we're getting in there. Deborah?
>> Right now Chuck you're looking at the doctors. They're answering the calls. I'll tell you
what. The phone lines have been busy since they opened up at 7:02. Now here joining us
right now is Dr. Dwight Davis, a cardiologist at the Med Center. He's going to answer some
of your questions for us. Thanks for being here.
>> Happy to be here Deborah.
>> This is the first question. What is a silent heart attack and who is at risk?
>> A silent heart attack is an event where the heart's damaged but the patient doesn't
realize that he has that damage that's occurring. It occurs quite commonly and a number of our
patients present that way where we find out later that they've had some damage.
>> And it can be a very serious heart attack correct?
>> It can be either a mild event and sometimes it can be a very, very significant event that
causes the patient to be extremely ill.
>> OK thanks so much for joining us and we'll come back to you in just a little bit with
more viewer questions. Back to you Chuck.
>> Thank you Deborah and Dr. now Tom had an LVAD assist device. Are there other types
of devices someone could use in that situation?
>> Yes there are a few different devices that are currently in clinical trials and in development;
and we at Hershey Medical Center are involved in these trials and we're using some of these
other devices as well.
>> Now when a patient has one of these devices what kind of restrictions are they put on?
>> We encourage them to get back to their normal activity. The only real restriction
that they have is that they can't get wet like a hot tub or a pool or taking a bath.
The reason is, is that the connection for the drive line, the connection from the pump
to the external world, can get infected and so we encourage people to avoid getting wet
as much as possible. But otherwise they can live their usually life.
>> Sounds like it's fairly loose at that point. Thank you doctor for joining us here tonight.
We know shortness of breath. We've all experienced it but when should we seek medical attention.
This Dalton [assumed spelling] County man thought it was nothing; he didn't even tell
his wife. Deborah Pinkerton will share his story next.
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