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Ed Yeates ReportingThough she was at death's door last week, a 19-year-old woman, hooked up to a device called the TandemHeart, has made one of the most dramatic recoveries doctors have seen so far.
LDS Hospital began clinical trials on this little device called the P-VAD six years ago. Since then, it's been used on about 25 patients. But this latest case surprised everybody.
At her home in St. George, 19-year-old Rebecca Hunt's heart suddenly went into cardiac arrest. She was dying.
Jeffrey Hunt/ Rebecca's Husband: "It was completely unexpected. There weren't any warning signs as far as her passing out. I had no clues this would happen." "They had to defibrillate her three times-- twice at home and once in the ambulance on her way to the hospital."
But that was then! This afternoon, she's going through rehab at Dixie Regional Hospital, working on some minor side effects with memory and speech.
Rebecca Hunt: "It's like I've been asleep for two weeks. Each day keeps getting better."
Though Rebecca may have a hidden heart arrhythmia condition, it's working fine now, because when she was flown to LDS Hospital, Dr. James Revenaugh and his colleagues used what is called a PVAD pump.
The PVAD is a pretty neat device because it's minimally invasive. It's attached to the exterior of the body, on the leg, and the whole procedure inside the cath lab takes only about 45 minutes.
For E.R patients, hearts failing and fading fast, the PVAD can be strapped immediately on the leg and attached with cannulas fed through a small incision in the groin to the femoral artery.
James Revenaugh, M.D./ LDS Hospital Interventional Cardiologist: "We've seen some pretty impressive turnarounds when we've used this device to support people in cardiogenic shock. But for her to recover as dramatically as she did is something I personally have not seen before."
Though she was on the PVAD only a short time, it gave Rebecca's heart enough time to rest, recover, and rebound.
James Revenaugh, M.D./ LDS Hospital Interventional Cardiologist: "When she left the hospital, her heart muscle function off of any medication to support it had recovered to the point of calling it normal or near normal."
The FDA granted approval for the PVAD pump in 2003. Since then, it's been used on 500 patients worldwide.
