“You’re not going to die on me,” Massachusetts woman helps save husband suffering heart attack

HARDWICK, Mass. (WWLP) – A registered nurse helped save her husband who was suffering from a heart attack while exercising together.

A news release sent to 22News from Baystate Health details the events of a man surviving a heart attack and how CPR and emergency cardiac surgery helped save his life. Mark and Diana Kmiec of Hardwick were exercising at home, running in place. They had stopped to rest when Diana went into the kitchen to stir something on the stove. She then heard Mark cry for help and found him on the floor and his face was purple.

Diana, a registered nurse for more than 30 years, called 911 and began CPR. “I remember just thinking over and over, ‘you’re not going to die on me, you are not going to die on me.’” When Hardwick Police arrived, they used an AED (automated external defibrillator) and he was shocked again when paramedics arrived to jumpstart his heart rhythm.

As the ambulance left to take Mark to Baystate Medical Center, miraculously Mark had come back to them, awake and alert. Mark was diagnosed with critical left main disease. It’s when the left main coronary artery (LMCA), the biggest supplier of oxygenated blood to the heart’s lower left pumping chamber, becomes blocked.

Kelly Wanamaker, MD, a cardiac surgeon at Baystate Medical Center said, “It is associated with a poor prognosis and has a detrimental effect on the heart. Mark’s left main coronary artery was nearly 99 percent blocked. He needed immediate treatment for any chance of survival.”

Due to this condition, Mark had to have emergency bypass surgery to restore blood flow to the heart by grafting a healthy vein or artery from another part of the body onto the coronary artery. When he woke up, he had no memory of anything that happened for the moment he collapsed.

Mark was released from the hospital after four days and recovered at home including four weeks of cardiac rehabilitation at Baystate Health. He was able to return to his construction job in two months. Due to Mark being in good physical health, he made a quick recovery.

“And Mark’s story is one where everything had to fall into place. The timing in his situation was critical,” said Dr Wannamaker. “He received immediate CPR. Paramedics with an AED arrived quickly. The speed in which he reached the Cardiac Cath Lab was vital. Mark’s survival is thanks to excellent timing and efficiency of care.”

Baystate Health’s Spokesperson Michelle Holmgren said Mark was in relatively good health, ate a balanced diet, exercised regularly, never smoked, and showed no signs of heart disease. Dr. Wanamaker says coronary plaque built up in Mark’s arteries.

To detect the health of arteries, doctors can calculate a person’s risk called cardiac calcium scoring . “This is performed via a CT scan of the heart that measures the amount of calcified plaque in the coronary arteries,” says Dr. Wanamaker.

Holmgren says this is a relatively new screening test and is not part of standard guidelines for heart screenings and may not be covered by insurance. If you have concerns, contact your primary care doctor.

Mark and Diana look forward to spending the summer watching the grandkids play in their pool and Mark says he plans on retiring this year. “Knowing CPR changed our lives. You never know when you’re going to have to step in and do something like that. I encourage everyone to take a class; it’s not that difficult. If Mark’s story can help just one person and save a life, it was worth it,” says Diana.

“I’m thankful for Dr. Wanamaker – Baystate was fabulous; for the Hardwick Police and Fire Department; and for my wife,” says Mark. “She is my hero.” “Life is very fragile. It can be gone in a heartbeat,” he continues. “There’s a calmness about me now. I look around and just smile. Life is a gift.”

Around 70 percent of cardiac arrests happen at home. To learn CPR, visit BaystateHealth.org for training courses or learn at home with CPR Anytime Training Kits from the American Heart Association.

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