Covid-19 Survivor: This guy fought and won an imminent heart attack against the virus

Despite his achievements, Bettinelli was not fully prepared for his latest victory. He fought and won an imminent heart attack and Covid-19 at the same time.

“After Covid-19, he underwent robotic minimally invasive coronary artery bypass surgery, which accounts for less than 1% of all cardiac surgeries,” said Cardiovascular at Mount Sinai Morningside in New York City, where he underwent surgery in Bettinelli. Dr. John Pscus, who chairs the surgery, said. ..

“So I’m happy to bet that he was the first person on the planet to recover from Covid-19 and then undergo invasive robot bypass surgery.”

‘I had no idea’

It was early February when Betinelli learned that he was at risk of having a “widow maker” heart attack-Covid-19 was still a distant threat in China. That meant he had a 100% occlusion in a critical artery on the left side of the heart-it was named because most can’t survive. To make matters worse, he also had major damage to several other blood vessels.

Again, Bettinelli was lucky. Unlike many with the condition, he had a painful angina attack-fallen on the floor of the house-as a warning. Still, it was a shock to learn that he has a genetic condition that can kill him at any time. He achieved his last few physics.

“I’ve always been in good shape,” Bettinelli said. “I was the last tired person on the basketball court. I ran 10 marathons. I never thought I had a heart problem.”

Doctors at Mount Sinai immediately inserted the stent, but what Bettineri really needed was bypass surgery. However, the day before his procedure was scheduled for mid-March, the hospital closed elective surgery due to a pandemic.

By that time, the virus had devastated New York City-hundreds of cases and dozens of deaths each day.

Bettinelli’s surgery was selective because of his unusual advantages. His heart has grown new arteries to compensate for the diminished blood flow-another example of his fascinating life.

“It’s basically a bypassing heart method,” Bettinelli said. “I have an extra artery that apparently has less than 20% of people.”

Two weeks later, Bettinelli’s luck was gone. He began to develop a fever and began to show other signs of Covid-19.

Despite being a high-risk priority for heart disease, Bettinelli, one of the conditions at which Covid-19 is often fatal, was unable to cross the hospital line.

“This was thick when the New Yorkers were kicked by Covid,” he said. “They had beds in Central Park, and Mount Sinai completely surrounded the atrium and subdivided it for beds.”

A drive-through test confirmed that Bettinelli was infected with the virus. Isolated elsewhere in his home away from his family, he fought recurring fever and overwhelming fatigue. It was often unclear whether his symptoms were due to a virus or a heart malfunction.

Then another blow. His elderly parents on Long Island were also diagnosed with Covid-19. But they wouldn’t take the illness seriously, Bettinelli said.

“They thought the virus was a conspiracy. I had lost my mind about it,” he said. “The day before my 89-year-old father was hospitalized, I was talking to my mother on the phone, but she downplayed the virus.”

His mother recovered at home. His father also seemed to kill the virus.

“For the first 11 days he was hospitalized, his father seemed to be home. Then he suddenly crashed. By the grace of God, he tells me how much I love him. It was long enough. “

“Sick person”

On Mount Sinai, Puska also faced a catastrophic reality. As chair of the Cardiovascular Surgery Department, he directed the remodeling of the hospital’s large cardiovascular intensive care unit, treating the majority of Covid-19 patients.

“All cardiac surgeons have become intensive care units in the ICU,” he said. “And because we were the best tech ICU, we got the most sick of the sick.”

As a member of the Cardiac ICU, Physicians are accustomed to mortality rates of less than 1%, Puskas said. Now, despite their best efforts, people are dying in front of them every day.

“The mortality rate was 70% or 80%, almost 100 times higher,” he said. “It was shocking to see the mortality rate of patients who couldn’t stay with their loved ones.

“And we are in an environment where all of our teammates are wondering,’Are you going to take care of each other right away with a ventilator here?'” “

Despite constant stress, Puskas worried about his patient and wanted Bettineri not to join the hospital’s ICU masses.

“I was afraid. I thought he would die,” Pukas said. “He is a 63-year-old man with coronary artery disease who needs surgery postponed due to the Covid-19 epidemic. He was subsequently infected with Covid.

“He falls fairly honestly into the category of patients who tend to be very inadequate with Covid-19,” Puskas added. “We closely monitored him and checked him weekly.”

Slowly and painfully, the crisis in New York City peaked. By June, Puskas and his team were ready to resume selective heart surgery. The first one: Ed Bettinelli.

“He was the first patient to have Covid-19 we operated on and one of the first patients to have heart surgery after the peak here in New York,” Puskas said.

A fascinating recovery, but with a message

Despite the delay and complexity of the operation, Bettinelli recovered very well.

“The next day I stood up and walked, but I couldn’t believe it,” Bettinelli said. “Everything I was doing was like they were telling me,” I can’t believe I’m doing this. ” “

Hospital staff also couldn’t believe that patients facing significant surgery would take his drumsticks to the hospital, Puskas said.

“So he’s drumming on his dining tray on his metal bed,” Puskas said with a laugh, “it was pretty interesting to everyone involved.”

Bettinelli explained to Puscus shortly after the surgery using his talking stick.

“I always bring the stick with me whenever I’m more than 24 hours away from the drum,” he added. “I wasn’t sure if I could move the stick after the bypass.”

“How do they work?” Asked Puskas. “It’s late, but it will be fine in a few days,” Bettinelli replied as he continued to practice.

Despite the good news, this experience leaves the story to both men with a determination to revisit the story, which may affect those who are not seriously at risk of the new coronavirus. I expected.

“I hate to say that, but it’s ignorant,” Bettinelli said. “Going through what I’ve lived,’Oh, I don’t have to wear a mask. This virus is a fake. This isn’t happening. It’s a dangerous situation,” he said.

For Puskas on Mount Sinai, what needs to be respected is the sacrifice of frontline workers.

“One of the things that surprised me was the burden on the nursing team in this crisis,” Puskas said.

“I have a nurse with a small iPad and my personal cell phone wrapped in PPE doing Facetime with my family, showing an image of the cell phone of a loved one who died on a ventilator. I saw it many times.

“Keep in mind that the image may be that a mean, healthy little child is passing around the virus,” Pascus said. “Let them stop and think about the burden on the patient, the family, and the nurse.”