Chris Pfitzer of Tempe, AZ awoke with flu-like symptoms one morning after winning a basketball championship. His is wife, Cory, saw Chris’ pale appearance and knew something was wrong. She gave him a baby aspirin and called 911. Chris remembered feeling a tingling sensation in his shoulders as he walked to the ambulance. His condition quickly deteriorated during the ride to Banner Desert Medical Center in Mesa, AZ.
Upon arriving to the emergency room, Chris went into cardiac arrest. Medical staff resuscitated him before rushing to the catheterization lab, where Dr. Sulay Patel opened the blockage and placed a stent in his LAD. Recognizing Chris was in cardiogenic shock with a severely reduced ejection fraction (5%), Dr. Patel then placed the Impella CP heart pump to support his heart and allow it to rest.
After two days of support, Chris’ heart function dramatically improved and Impella was weaned and removed. Ten days after entering the hospital, Chris returned home to his family, and it wasn’t long before Chris was back to fishing and playing basketball.
Check out this segment on FOX 10 Phoenix on Chris’s story of heart recovery and how the Impella saved his life.
See the full coverage: Arizona father’s life saved by medical device after heart attacks
