COOKEVILLE, TN -- It may not be the most attractive accessory but Billie Kerley doesn't care. He'll tell you that he's just thankful to be alive.
"If you're interested in life ... I don't see no reason why that a doctor himself, or a nurse or anything like that couldn't influence somebody, in a way, to wear it," Kerley said.
After suffering from an acute heart attack that weakened his heart, Kerley was fitted with a LifeVest -- the first wearable defibrillator that requires no bystander intervention. Just a few days later, while sleeping, he went into cardiac arrest.
"I was done gone," he said. "I'd done checked out." The LifeVest detected the arryhthmia and delivered a treatment shock to restore his heart's natural rhythm. Kerley, who also has heart disease, has suffered multiple heart attacks and had three stents inserted to help improve blood flow. In the opinion of his cardiologist, Dr. Thomas Little -- board certified in internal medicine, cardiovascular diseases, nuclear cardiology, and interventional cardiology -- Kerley was at high risk of sudden death and was a prime candidate for an an implantable defibrillator (ICD).
Unfortunately, these patients must wait approximately three months before getting fitted with an ICD. In the meantime, they wear an external defibrillator as an extra means of protection. On average, the patient will wear the vest between one to three months before having an ICD implanted. Patients who are being considered for a heart transplant surgery may need to wear the vest for a longer period of time.
Typically, the patient is fit with the LifeVest before they are discharged from the hospital -- during which time, physicians and staff spend approximately an hour and a half talking to patient about the LifeVest and explaining how it works. A LifeVest is worn outside the body -- resembling a pair of suspenders or overalls -- and continuously monitors the patient's heart via a rechargeable monitoring device. If a life-threatening heart rhythm is detected, the device delivers a treatment shock to restore normal rhythm after alerting the patient.
"The vest ain't no big deal. It's no problem," Kerley said. HIs only complaint is the one to two-pound rechargeable monitoring device that connects to the vest. Each device comes with two rechargeable batteries one for the device and another to stay on the charger as a back up. When needed, the batteries are swapped out allowing the device to be continuously worn. If the device goes off and delivers a shock to the heart, that is an indication that the patient needs to have an ICD inserted right away -- which is what happened in Kerley's case. Kerley has no recollection of what happened while he was sleeping that day while wearing the LifeVest. He does know that, without it, he wouldn't be alive today.
"These do work," he says. Little, Kerley's cardiologist, has been with Kerley throughout his ordeal. These days, Kerley has to come in every so often for a check up with Little. A wireless monitoring system is constantly updated by Kerley's ICD, from home.
"If something is out of spec, it sends a warning to the manufacturer and the manufacturer sends us an email saying we need to get in touch (with the patient) to investigate it," Little said. "With modern technology, the surveillance is incredible."
The vest was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2002 and, to date, the LifeVest has been prescribed to more than 50,000 patients. "I think he (Kerley) illustrates why it's so important," Little said. "If he didn't have it, it's rare that he would have been rescucitated."