Grand View Health and Lehigh Valley Heart and Vascular Institute hosted a reunion today (April 13) at Grand View to celebrate Perkasie heart attack survivor David Byrne and all those who helped save his life nearly a year ago.
Byrne, 38, collapsed in the shower at his home on April 22, 2021 in full cardiac arrest due to a fully blocked left anterior descending artery. A cardiac arrest caused by a heart attack involving this blood vessel is commonly referred to as a ‘widow maker’ because of the high mortality rate, especially in cardiac arrest that occurs outside the hospital.
A host of people, including Byrne’s wife, Jillian, local police and EMS, and doctors and other caregivers at Grand View and Lehigh Valley Hospital (LVH)–Cedar Crest, contributed to saving David Byrne’s life. Many attended the April 13 reunion, including interventional cardiologist Shailendra Singh, MD, Co-Director of Interventional Vascular Cardiology at Lehigh Valley Heart and Vascular Institute and Grand View Interim CEO Douglas Hughes.
Singh was on duty on April 22, 2021 as part of an ongoing partnership with Grand View in which LVHN provides around-the-clock interventional cardiology coverage.
“Celebrating victories like David’s recovery is important because it takes a team to be successful in saving someone’s life in this scenario,” said Singh. “The fact that David is walking, talking and completely normal without any neurological consequences, is incredible.”
Singh said LVHN is proud of the interventional cardiology partnership with Grand View Health that began in late 2019. “Together, we are truly making a difference in the lives of the residents in this area,” he said.
After emergency treatment at Grand View, Byrne was transferred to LVH–Cedar Crest, where he spent two months in intensive care.
Part of the reunion program included a demonstration of the Impella® heart pump, used to help treat Byrne. Impella is designed to provide minimally invasive, temporary support for patients with heart failure or cardiogenic shock resulting from a heart attack. Technology like Impella allows Grand View and LVHN hospitals to provide more comprehensive and advanced care options to patients with advanced heart disease.
Grand View and LVHN are among the more than 1,500 centers in the U.S. that use Impella products. The Impella platform of products were developed by Abiomed Inc., based in Danvers, Mass.
About Impella Heart Pumps
The Impella 2.5® and Impella CP® devices are US FDA approved to treat certain advanced heart failure patients undergoing elective and urgent percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI), such as stenting or balloon angioplasty, to reopen blocked coronary arteries. Impella 2.5, Impella CP, Impella CP with SmartAssist®, Impella 5.0®, Impella LD®, and Impella 5.5® with SmartAssist® are US FDA approved to treat heart attack or cardiomyopathy patients in cardiogenic shock and have the unique ability to enable native heart recovery, allowing patients to return home with their own heart.