LIFE-CHANGING
MEDICAL EMERGENCY
FOR POMPTON LAKES FAMILY
O
n the evening of August 24, 2016, life
changed instantly for the Kachur family of
Pompton Lakes. Eighteen-year-old Michael
Kachur was only weeks away from starting his fresh-
man year at the Savannah College of Art and Design
when he suddenly collapsed in the family room.
out of noWhere
“We had no idea what happened,” says Michael’s
mother, Elizabeth. “One minute he was fine, and the
next minute he was on the floor turning blue.”
Michael’s brother, Brian, quickly hailed a next-door
neighbor (and retired police officer) who ran over
to the Kachur house within minutes to administer
CPR – a response that helped save Michael’s life.
When the ambulance arrived, it transported
Michael to Chilton Medical Center, where doctors
assessed the situation and acted swiftly to stabilize
him. They connected him immediately to an Arctic
Sun Temperature Management System to lower his
body temperature and save his brain cells. Michael
spent several critical hours in Chilton’s intensive care
unit under the care of Intensivist Dr. Daniel Markley,
whose expertise and quick action contributed to
Michael’s full recovery, according to Elizabeth.
“I couldn’t believe this was happening; he was
perfectly healthy,” says Elizabeth. “We had no
idea what was wrong and neither did the doctors,
initially.” Several weeks later, the Kachurs finally
learned the cause of Michael’s collapse.
sudden cardiac arrest
This heart condition, which may be inherited in
some cases, causes the abrupt and unexpected deaths
of approximately 4,000 children and young adults
each year in the U.S. The condition is more formerly
known as sudden arrhythmia death syndrome, or
SADS. Ventricular arrhythmias in the heart trigger-
ing cardiac arrest are the most common cause of
SADS. Approximately half of all SADS deaths occur
unexpectedly and with nearly half of these victims,
cardiac arrest is the very first manifestation of the
disease.
“I didn’t understand the gravity of what was hap-
pening until we got him to the hospital,” Elizabeth
stresses. “We thought it was a seizure, but it was so
much worse. If it wasn’t for the staff at Chilton and
their compassionate, effective and fast response,
Michael wouldn’t be here today.”
Warning signs of
sudden arrhythmia
death syndrome (sads)
• Family history of unexpected, unexplained
sudden death under age 40.
• Fainting or seizure during exercise,
excitement or startle.
• Consistent or unusual chest pain and/or
shortness of breath during exercise.
Back to Life
The miraculous news: After successful
surgery to install a device to monitor the
electrical function of the heart, months
of recovery and weeks of rehab, Michael
recovered fully from his cardiac event and is
back at school in Savannah, Ga., something
that makes Mom just a tad nervous, albeit
eternally grateful.
“I have my moments for sure, but
Michael has been cleared to live a full and
active life – as if nothing happened – and
that’s fantastic,” says Elizabeth, who now is
involved with the SADS Foundation, help-
ing educate others on this quiet and sudden
killer. “It was against all odds that Michael
survived, so we are truly lucky. I’m now
helping others prepare – not necessarily to
prevent the cardiac event itself, because you
don’t know it’s going to happen – but for
how to respond when someone suddenly
collapses. It’s the very least I can do.”
Program for the heart
For patients who have had or may be
at risk for heart rhythm problems (arrhyth-
mias), Atlantic Health System offers the
Cardiac Rhythm Management Program at
Morristown Medical Center. The program
provides services and guidance to patients
who have irregular, premature or rapid
heartbeats, or experience fainting episodes,
and to those who may have been resuscitat-
ed from sudden cardiac arrest, such as
Michael, and are in need of a pacemaker
or automatic defibrillator. v
For more information about
Heart Care at Atlantic Health System,
visit atl