In a remarkable display of medical innovation at Abrazo West Campus, doctors saved the life of 61-year-old Deanna Morehead with the world's smallest heart pump following a massive heart attack. Morehead, a resident of Buckeye, went through a life-threatening ordeal that saw immediate and skilled intervention by the medical team, as reported by FOX 10 Phoenix.
An acute heart attack left Morehead's key heart chambers unable to pump blood, a condition few survive outside a hospital. "I had to learn how to walk, I had to learn how to use my hands again, I couldn't feed myself. I couldn't walk, and I just really pushed forward, and I had really good therapists that really were encouraging," Morehead told FOX 10 Phoenix in a statement that articulated the gravity of her situation and the journey towards recovery.
In the crucial hours following her heart attack on March 25, Morehead's boyfriend acted swiftly, performing CPR before rushing her to Abrazo West Campus. Once there, Dr. Saif Al-Qaisi executed the crucial decision to use an Impella RP flex mechanical circulatory support device to save Morehead's life. This innovative pump, designed to aid the heart's right ventricle, was delivered and used in an unprecedented move at the campus, according to details from KTAR News.
"Deanna had an acute heart attack, when a dominant coronary artery is 100% suddenly blocked, resulting in biventricular heart failure when the main two chambers of the heart fail to provide adequate blood flow to the vital organs," Dr. Al-Qaisi explained the condition, reported by KTAR News. Quick thinking and a swift approval process allowed for the device to be placed in Morehead's right ventricle as well as the standard Impella CP in the left ventricle, heralding a successful outcome for what could have been a tragic event.
Following extensive rehabilitation, Morehead illustrated her gratitude and the progress made. "We went up, and I did get to meet a lot of the doctors and nurses, and they were like, 'Oh my god, you're a miracle girl, like we did not expect you to live,' and I don't remember any of them, but they remember me and they were very happy to see that I'm good," she recounted to FOX 10 Phoenix. The device that once seemed like a last-ditch effort now sits prepared on the shelf at Abrazo West Campus, ready to give future patients the same fighting chance.
