Archive - 2009

I never thought something like this could happen to me.  I had just turned 51; I was working out twice a day for over 2 1/2 hours; 13% body fat; good diet; low blood pressure, cholestrol level great; all vital signs good!  Then it happened and I don't remember a single part of it.  On New Years Day - 2009, I had just completed my morning workout and was minutes away from walking out of the gym, which was getting ready to close for the holiday.  Following a morning of weight lifting and then an hour of Spin (cycling), I had jogged 1/2 mile and was just walking a couple of laps to cool down.  8 days later I awoke from a coma after having suffered and survived full cardiac arrest.

On the evening of February 19, 2008, we welcomed our precious Leila Julianna into the world, born with a clean bill of health. We spent the typical three days in the hospital and then came home to settle in. After a busy evening at home, we all fell asleep. You never think when you fall asleep, that when you wake up, your entire life will change. But ours did. I awoke in the night to a chilling silence and a terrible feeling inside.

LOS ANGELES–Los Angeles police have opened an investigation into circumstances surrounding the death of actress Brittany Murphy.   Police have been dispatched to Cedars-Sinai and to the Los
Angeles home where Murphy, 32, went into cardiac arrest earlier today. Police sources
emphasized that their inquiry was preliminary, adding they could not say
whether it would point to any criminal conduct.

L.A. city firefighters responded to a call from the home in
the 1800 block of Rising Glen Road. Murphy was transported to Cedars-Sinai
Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.

Born in Atlanta, Murphy moved to Burbank with her mother at
age 13. Her film break came in the movie "Clueless" (1995), in which
she starred opposite Alicia Silverstone.

Study results: devices are used in half of patients eligible
under current guidelines

A study of heart failure patients who meet national
guidelines for devices that stabilize and strengthen the heart’s electrical
system found that only half of eligible patients received the devices. The
study, which is the first to examine the management of heart failure patients
in outpatient cardiology practices throughout the United States, also found
wide, unexplained variations in the use of the devices, known as implantable
cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs). The study is published in the December 2009
issue of the journal HeartRhythm.

LOS ANGELES–Stan Wisniewski, 79, and his wife, Jaci, 74, are seated
comfortably in their white living room near a framed embroidery work depicting
a flowing dragon. A grandfather clock chimes softly noting the quarters of the
hour.

The San Dimas couple look and feel great. They have enjoyed
their 50-plus years together, perhaps a bit more than other couples.

That is because Wisniewski could have died, at age 24, from
cardiac arrest. That was in 1954, long before the development of aggressive
cardiac treatments that are available today. He lived because a surgeon used a
pocketknife to open his chest and massage his heart with bare hands.

Today is the 55th anniversary of that day. Wisniewski is the
longest surviving cardiac arrest patient listed in the records of the Sudden
Cardiac Arrest Foundation.

Beginning January 1, new AED legislation in Oregon will
require businesses to provide automated external defibrillators (AEDs). Oregon
Senate Bill 556 mandates the purchase of the defibrillators by “any place of
public assembly with a facility of 50,000 square feet or more and with at least
25 individuals present on a normal business day."

Many towns already have AEDs installed in public places. In
some communities AEDs are installed at City Hall, the post office, and in banks
around town. Many states are introducing legislation for AEDs in schools, dental offices, nursing homes, and other public
locations, as well as businesses.

An anonymous $5,000 donation completed a project by the
Nelson County Virginia Sheriff’s Office to place one automatic external
defibrillator (AED) in each of the 10 patrol vehicles in the county last week. The donation was made in honor of Elmo Bowling, of Amherst,
who died of a heart attack in 2007.

“They felt like at the time, if there was an AED present, it
may have saved his life,” said Nelson County Sheriff David Brooks.

Three of the AEDs that will be placed in country patrol
vehicles have plaques that honor Bowling.

“We hope it will benefit and save a lot of lives,” said
Elizabeth Bowling, of Arrington, Elmo Bowling’s mother. “He would be greatly
honored. Elmo loved helping people.”

Sheila Wood, a dispatcher for the Nelson County Sheriff
Office and certified AED trainer, said the devices have saved lives in the
county before.

Sheboygan, Wisconsin–A 72-year-old man visiting Sheboygan collapsed in a motel
lobby Tuesday night but was brought back to life by an automated external
defibrillator (AED), according to the Sheboygan Police Department.

Employees at AmericInn, called 911 about 6:45 p.m., and two
Sheboygan police officers arrived to find the Coleman resident was not
breathing and had no pulse, said Capt. James Veeser. The man’s name was not
released.

Officers Brian Inger and Ryan Schmitt performed CPR and then
used the AED to revive the man. He was taken to St. Nicholas Hospital and later
transferred to Columbia St. Mary’s Hospital Ozaukee in Mequon.

Veeser said the AEDs are typically used about twice a year.
All Sheboygan police officers and dispatchers are trained to use the
defibrillators, which are placed in every squad car.

Three-year mortality reduced in Medicare beneficiaries with
HF following ICD implantation

Patients with heart failure (HF) and left ventricular
ejection fraction (EF)  <35% who
received an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) during hospitalization
had better survival at three years than those who received no device.

Researchers enrolled 4,685 Medicare beneficiaries (60%
women) with HF who were eligible to receive ICDs in the study. All patients
were discharged from the hospital alive and were treated in hospitals
participating in the OPTIMIZE-HF trial, as well as GWTG-HF quality improvement
programs. The outcome of interest was all-cause mortality within three years of
index hospitalization for HF.

Congress yesterday passed
the final fiscal year 2010 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education
Appropriations bill, which will increase funding for the Health Resources and
Services Administration’s Rural and Community Access to Emergency Devices
Program. The bill calls for appropriations of $2.526 million, the highest
funding level the program has received since 2005. The program provides funding to rural communities to purchase automated external defibrillators (AEDs) and provide training in their use and maintenance.

The bill will now go to the
President for his signature.