Southwest Florida woman recovers from severe heart attack with advanced NCH heart pump procedure

Samm McMahon, a Southwest Florida woman who was healthy and active, experienced a stunning recovery after a massive heart attack, thanks to an advanced heart pump procedure at NCH Rooney Heart Institute.

Healthy habits have played a significant role in McMahon's life.

"I've been a walker for 27 years, so my average step is 15,000 a day. I don't drink, I don't smoke," McMahon said. Despite her healthy lifestyle, she never expected her heart to give out. Like more than 800,000 Americans each year, McMahon suffered a heart attack.

Dr. Brian Solomon, a cardiothoracic surgeon at NCH Rooney Heart Institute, said, "That heart attack was what we call an ST elevation myocardial infarction. It's a very severe heart attack where the muscle of the heart can begin to die from a blockage in the artery." Implanting a stent didn't work, and McMahon's condition was deteriorating.

Her daughter, Meghan Demchenko, said, "Three times we were told, you know, probably best to come in and say goodbye." The family's last hope was surgery to implant a heart pump. Doctors at NCH had a tough conversation with Demchenko. "They came in and said, 'Do we want to try this procedure or should we call in hospice?'" she said.

The family decided to take a leap of faith, and Solomon implanted the Impella.

"It's basically a very small artificial heart device," he said. By making a small incision under the shoulder blade, he threaded wires into the heart and slid the device in place.

"We were thinking the heart was so badly damaged it would need a transplant, but we'd have the added benefit of being able to rest the heart and seeing if it was able to recover on its own," Solomon said.

The Impella worked better than anyone could have imagined. "The pump was out within four days; the heart was back to normal. She was walking around the hallways and looking great," Solomon said. McMahon described her recovery as "a true miracle. Sometimes you still have to pinch yourself."

Now on the path to recovery, McMahon said, "I honestly still can't wrap my head around it." She has no heart damage, thanks to the device that gave her the break she needed.

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