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a l I f e - c h a n g I n g d a y

on May 1, the day after arriving home, Jack awoke and knew something was wrong.

“I just didn’t feel well,” Jack said. “It didn’t feel like a heart attack; I just knew something was wrong. When we took my blood pressure, my heart rate had dropped to the 40s. We waited a while and took it again. This time it was in the 30s. When we got to the emergency department, my heart rate was 28. It was hard for me to think clearly.”

Jack stayed at Kootenai Medical center overnight for observation. By the morning, dr. Pataky had spoken to an electrophysiologist about Jack’s condition, and they agreed he was a good candidate for an electrophysiol-ogy study.

electrophysiology is the study of the way electrical cur-rents move through the heart and cause the heart to beat and pump blood. Patients with abnormal heart rhythms (tachycardia) such as those Jack experienced, along with patients who need pacemakers or defbrillators, generally require some level of care from an electrophysiologist. After Jack had an initial consultation with eteri Byazrova, M.d., an electrophysiologist with Heart clinics northwest, she performed an ablation, a procedure that kills the cells in the heart that are causing the abnormal electrical activity.

“When I woke up after the procedure, I felt good right away,” Jack said. “Before the procedure, I had gotten pretty out of shape. now I am off all my heart medications—I just take 25 mg of Toprol a day for high blood pressure—and I can golf 18 holes again.”

m e e t I n g t h e n e e d

Bringing electrophysiology to Kootenai Heart center is the fnal piece in providing comprehensive cardiovas-cular services in northern Idaho, according to dennis cooke, M.d., an interventional cardiologist with Heart clinics northwest.

“At Kootenai Health, we have more than 400 cases each year that have to be transferred to Spokane for electro-physiology services,” dr. cooke said. “Many times we discover the need for electrophysiology while treating

another condition or performing bypass surgery. Having the needed equipment and staff on-site will allow us to take care of these conditions when we fnd them rather than requiring a second visit.”

The service the Kootenai Health Foundation hopes to provide for the Heart center will involve developing a new lab dedicated to electrophysiology and bringing experienced surgeons and staff to the center.

“The programwill utilize experienced staff in a state-of-the-art lab,” dr. cooke said. “It will allow us to implant devices such as defbrillators, to diagnose problems and to perform curative procedures such as ablation. It is something we are very capable of doing.” From Jack’s perspective it’s very personal.

“I know from experience what it’s like having to go to Spokane. It’s just so much more convenient to have it at home,” he said. “This programwill be a real resource for the people here and an important part of offering comprehensive health care.”