BACK IN
THE GAME
Chilton’s advanced capabilities help patient survive rare cardiac condition
Tom Delleart recalls little about August 5, 2017, other than the
fact that it began as a typical Saturday – with plans for a competitive
doubles match on the tennis courts. Healthy, active and exceptionally
fit, the 68-year-old Pompton Plains resident is a self-described
“tennis fanatic” who has played tennis for over 30 years and
at least three times a week since retiring in 2015.
O
n that fateful morning,
Tom seemed to be on top
of his game. In fact, accord-
ing to his friends, he had
just stroked an impressive
volley before struggling to
catch his breath. Minutes later Tom was
in sudden cardiac arrest.
Luck on his side
Although he suffered a medical trauma,
Tom reflects upon the incident with grati-
tude. In his view, the circumstances and
events that ensued are nothing short of
extraordinary and a miracle – from the
swift intervention of his tennis buddies and
first responders to the highly specialized
care he received at Chilton Medical Center.
“I still marvel at the severity of the situ-
ation and how everything fell into place,”
he said. “It’s amazing that I survived.”
For starters, one of Tom’s tennis part-
ners was trained in CPR and performed
chest compressions until the Wanaque
Police Department arrived. Officers revived
Tom with the assistance of an automatic
external defibrillator before transferring his
care to paramedics, who resuscitated Tom a
second time and rushed him to Chilton –
which represented another stroke of luck.
As part of its expanding continuum of
services, Atlantic Health System’s Chilton
Medical Center is among few community
hospitals equipped to provide mechanical
cardiac support, a clinical innovation that
helped to save Tom’s life.
AdvAnced cArdiAc cAre
When Tom reached the Emergency
Department, Chilton’s medical team was at
the ready. An echocardiogram confirmed
that he was having a heart attack and need-
ed angioplasty, a procedure that allows
doctors to identify and treat blockages in
the arteries. As nurses prepared Tom for
treatment, his wife, Beverly, was intro-
duced to interventional cardiologist
Lawrence Blitz, MD, who instilled a
sense of confidence.
“In the midst of a critical situation,
Dr. Blitz explained everything to me in a
knowledgeable yet compassionate way,” she
noted. “From the moment I met him, I
knew we’d been blessed with a wonderful
doctor who would do everything possible.”
As it turned out, Beverly’s instincts were
right, because as they moved Tom to the
Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory anoth-
er crisis emerged. He went into cardiogenic
shock, a rare, often fatal condition in
summer 2018 Chilton Magazine
which a suddenly weakened heart cannot
pump enough blood and oxygen to the
body’s vital organs.
“Patients who go into cardiogenic
shock as a result of a heart attack have
about a 50-percent chance of survival,”
stated Dr. Blitz. Delayed treatment may
lead to permanent organ failure, brain
damage, or loss of life.
As Tom’s blood pressure plummeted,
Dr. Blitz implanted a mechanical heart
pump, called a left ventricular assist device
(LVAD), inside Tom’s heart. The device is
so small that it fits on the tip of a catheter,
which is threaded to the heart through an
artery in the leg. The LVAD worked
immediately, restoring normal blood flow
while allowing Tom’s heart to recover.
Once his condition had stabilized, Dr.
Blitz treated the heart attack by clearing
the blocked artery and inserting two stents.
“Mechanical cardiac support is the
most effective way to support a failing
heart during cardiogenic shock, though it
is uncommon for a community hospital to
have this capability,” added Dr. Blitz.
Chilton acquired the new technology last
April as part of Atlantic Health System’s
commitment to provide all patients with
leading-edge cardiac care.