Another Chance at Life

Shawgo was headed across the street on a summer evening to help a neighbor with a car problem when he collapsed with a heart attack. A quick-thinking neighbor called 911, while another performed CPR until help arrived. At that point, Shawgo, then 53, was rushed to Ukiah Valley Medical Center.

“I was dead-six times in all!” says Shawgo, referring to the number of times his heart stopped and he was resuscitated.

The emergency physician on duty at Ukiah immediately recognized the heart attack and had Shawgo airlifted to SHH. He was again resuscitated when his heart stopped after arriving at the Joseph Phelps Vineyards Heliport on his way to the cardiac cath lab.

After cardiologist Alan Tenaglia, MD, and the cath lab team were able to stabilize Shawgo, they discovered that half of his heart was not working. Minutes later, Dr. Jacobson performed the bypass surgery that saved Shawgo’s life.

Super Glue for the Heart

Shuey was enjoying a summer trip to the Northern California Wine Country, where he grew up, when chest pain interrupted his vacation. On the day after his 39th birthday, he went to Ukiah Valley Medical Center’s emergency department because he thought he was having a heart attack.

“I felt strange. At first I was light-headed. Then I started to experience pain in the chest,” Shuey recalls. “I recognized the symptoms and went immediately to the ER.”

It turns out that Shuey was actually experiencing an aortic dissection, or tear in the aorta-a rare and often fatal condition that, months later, killed actor John Ritter.

Shuey, an engineer who lives in Raleigh, N.C., was whisked by helicopter to SHH-his hometown hospital, as he graduated from St. Helena High School.

Using an FDA-approved surgical product called Bioglue, cardiac surgeon John Jacobson, MD, performed emergency surgery to repair as much of the aorta as possible. The Bioglue strengthens the aorta by filling the needle holes of Teflon strips used to patch the tear. When an aorta tears, it becomes “like a soggy napkin”, says Dr. Jacobson. But “the glue significantly toughens up the tissue and lets it hold sutures better.”

Shuey is now back home in North Carolina. He faced the challenges of recuperating from his surgery and had to adjust to several medications. He took part in cardiac rehab, an exercise and diet program for people with heart disease, and currently walks 30 to 40 minutes a day.

While aortic dissections are relatively rare, Shuey’s experience emphasizes the importance of seeking prompt treatment for chest pain. Time is of the essence in treating both heart attacks and tears in the aorta, says Dr. Jacobson.

Some symptoms of aortic dissection mimic those of a heart attack and can include chest pain, shortness of breath, light-headedness, a cold sweat or clammy feeling, pain between the shoulder blades, pain in the upper abdomen, or a difference between the pulse of the arm and the leg.