Bonnie Stine, Lakeland, FL – 51 at time of event (2006)
Bonnie never knew that she had something wrong with her heart. No one put all the little pieces together. She was often a little out of breath, not exactly in shape, pre-menopausal, and even had a little swelling in her ankles. As a registered nurse, she might have known better, but cardiology was not her specialty. She knew she was overweight, and the two Caesarian sections hadn’t helped.
She consulted a cardiologist who felt there was no physical problem, despite some arrhythmias*. There was also that time long ago when she suffered a concussion. But the dizzy spells didn’t seem to have any pattern or reason. So she sought another opinion. This time, they thought she might have a neurological problem.
Bonnie had all the usual tests: EEG, MRI, plus an echocardiogram, and was asked to wear an event monitor for a week. She was skeptical, since “I may never have the spell—it can be weeks. Although, I have had two spells in one week before…”
Several days later Bonnie had a mild blackout, and captured the event. She transmitted the data on Monday to have it analyzed. They immediately called her back. “Is there someone who can take you to the hospital?” She had had a run of 27 instances of ventricular tachycardia (VT). And Bonnie had felt that it had been only a mild spell!
She went to the hospital, underwent a heart catheterization, and found she suffered from non-ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy**.
“So, I went through cardiac rehab, lost 85 pounds, and tried to do all the right things with heart medicines.” Bonnie continued with the exercise regime afterwards, attending a cardio program at her local community sports center while working part time at the hospital.
Early Tuesday morning after April Fool’s day, Bonnie collapsed at the City Parks & Recreation center. The lifeguards came running, and 9-1-1 was called. The EMTs arrived in minutes, took over CPR, and administered over half-a-dozen shocks before her heart would beat by itself. The cardiologist told her husband that 42 minutes was too long—she would have brain deficits. Her ejection fraction was only 35%, and she was still having runs of VT.
“So I got a little defibrillator/pacemaker as a parting gift, and had to stay off work for three months.” Nursing was a little too strenuous, so Bonnie found a sedentary position as stroke registrar and collects data instead.
Knowing how rarely rescuers get to hear about their saves, Bonnie went back to the recreation center to meet her rescuers. One of them told her, “You’re part of my family now.”
With an eye on the future, Bonnie hopes to celebrate her 30th wedding anniversary with her husband on a trip to Europe. Maybe they’ll take a relaxing cruise.
* Specifically PVCs, Premature Ventricular Contractions, which are easiest understood as “extra beats”.
** Non-ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy (known as DCM) is a condition in which the heart becomes weakened and enlarged, often with unknown cause (known as idiopathic). About one in three cases of congestive heart failure (CHF) are due to dilated cardiomyopathy.
-Jeremy Whitehead