The local hospital sent him via helicopter to WMC
Surgeons repaired his aortic dissection, just in time
The road to recovery was long, but he reached it
Now, he’s happy to have the rest of his life ahead of him
Michael Bean, aortic dissection/heart surgery patient
On October 8, 2008, Putnam County resident Michael Bean was about to leave to catch the train to his New York City office as he did every day when he suddenly felt extremely dizzy and light-headed. When his wife noticed that he was also very pale, she drove him to a nearby hospital.
The doctors there ordered a computed tomography (CT) scan and found out that Michael’s life was in imminent danger. He had an aortic dissection, a tearing of the inner lining of his aorta. This caused the blood that was supposed to be going to vital organs to leak into the vessel walls. Due to a lack of blood flow, some organs were already starting to shut down.
Michael was immediately transported by helicopter to Westchester Medical Center where surgeons were waiting to take him into the operating room. “An aortic dissection is an absolute emergency. These patients don’t go to the emergency room or the intensive care unit; they go directly to the O.R.,” says David Spielvogel, M.D., Director of Heart Transplant at Westchester Medical Center. “The difference between life and death is how fast you get them there.”
Michael’s aortic dissection was caused by an aneurysm of the ascending aorta, and his case was unusually severe because the dissection traveled to where the aorta attaches to the heart, and it involved the aortic valve and the coronary arteries. To make matters worse, the dissection was cutting off blood flow to his bowel and kidneys, and his kidneys had shut down.
To get blood flowing to his body, Michael was put on a heart-lung machine. Then Dr. Spielvogel was able to repair part of the aorta and graft replacements for the other damaged parts of the heart. The operation, which took about 6 hours, was a success.
However, Michael was still very sick because of his organ failure. He was in the ICU and drifted in and out of consciousness over the next seven weeks. He was on dialysis to help his weakened kidneys, and his gallbladder had to be removed. Slowly, he improved and was well enough to be released from Westchester Medical Center. He was placed under the care of cardiac specialist Anthony Pucillo, M.D. Over the next few months, Dr. Pucillo monitored and treated Michael’s heart, which continued to be weak.
Michael’s heart finally began to turn the corner in August of 2009. He was eating better, had regained some weight, had no shortness of breath, and was beginning to feel like himself again.
In June 2009, Michael, an architect, returned to work, and, today, he says he feels great. His heart is almost back to full strength and he can live a normal life. Most importantly, he’s back to spending time with his wife and three kids. And he credits the doctors, nurses and staff at WMC for getting him there.
Learn more about Westchester Heart and Vascular.
