Health & Hope is a newsletter designed to educate and inspire Western Montanans on life-saving procedures, community events and services to keep you and your family healthy.
Issue link: https://blog.providence.org/i/1420631
Of all the organs in the body, the heart holds the distinction of being at the center of the circulatory system; the power generator supplying the body with energy. When the heart fails, it may be a dramatic event such as a heart attack. But it can also give notice through subtle signs, easily misread or ignored. Left untreated, the heart will suffer irreversible damage, creating a domino effect throughout the body. That's where Greg Soumokil found himself the day he passed out on an excavation job site. The Spokane resident had been feeling tired and had less stamina than usual, but he didn't think it was related to his heart. Heart failure comes as a surprise Within 24-hours of passing out at work, Greg, 56, was at Providence Spokane Heart Institute where a pacemaker and defibrillator were put in place to help manage his erratic heartbeat. Although both devices kept Greg's heart going for several months, his health declined. He was taken to the ED on multiple occasions and spent numerous days in the hospital. "I had fatigue, I wasn't sleeping well, and my appetite was up and down. I knew things weren't quite right," Greg says. It didn't hit home that his heart was failing until he was referred to the heart failure team. "I just thought we were moving on to see if it may be heart failure. I didn't realize I had heart failure and how advanced the heart failure was. It was kind of shocking to me," he says. Waiting for a heart In late 2020, M Cristi Smith, M.D., cardiothoracic surgeon and surgical director of transplants, mechanical-circulatory support and adult ECMO at Providence Spokane Heart Institute, sat down with Greg to go over his options. "When we met with Greg he was very sick. His journey to heart failure had been going on for a while. He just didn't have a lot of time," Dr. Smith recalls. Her team's first choice for Greg was a heart transplant. To help him get stronger in preparation for the surgery, they put him on four medications. But getting a heart proved to be more challenging than they anticipated. Greg's blood type and his height made him a difficult match. What is a TAH? Dr. Smith worked with the team who invented the Total Artificial Heart (TAH), the device designed to work as a temporary replacement for the left and right ventricles of a failing heart. Composed of biocompatible plastic, two artificial ventricles placed at the bottom half of a heart and four inflow and outflow valves work in unison to pump blood throughout the body. An external pneumatic press along with the controls are attached to the mechanical heart via two long lines that act as an air pump – this keeps Greg's heart going. Be a donor, save a life. Give the ultimate gift of life by registering to become an organ donor. Visit lcnw.org " I'm amazed at what they 've done to keep me here, keep me alive, give me another chance." As the days passed waiting for a heart, Greg's health slipped. His liver and other organs were declining. Concerned that he may become too sick for a transplant, Dr. Smith's team tried a temporary balloon pump device, and when that didn't work, they tried ECMO, a life- support machine that pumps and oxygenates a patient's blood outside the body, allowing the heart and lungs to rest. Still, they remained optimistic that a heart for Greg would be available any day. "But it just didn't happen," Dr. Smith says. "At the point we were at, and with no heart available on the horizon, the Total Artificial Heart was the best way forward to help get him mobile, get him talking, so he could wait for his heart, at home." Continued on next page »