A heartbeat away: A husband’s heroic rescue

Patti and Kevin Trabocco are as devoted a couple as you could possibly find. Married since 1999, they raised two boys together, and share a deep love for the Jersey shore and the Philadelphia Eagles. To see them laughing together as they often do, one would never know how much they both have been through.

As a young man, Kevin served overseas as a sergeant in the Marine Corps, and in his words, "survived by the grace of God." And in 1993, when Patti was just 31 years old, she suffered a heart attack that many would not have survived, along with multiple strokes. She was diagnosed with a rare blood clotting disorder and has since been on medication to control it. There seemed to be no reason for any further concern.

It was on April 19, 2015, that their lives would be turned upside down. The couple went to bed at about 11 p.m., and Patti began feeling a bit nauseated. She curled up in the fetal position and tried to sleep. She remembers telling Kevin she was not feeling well.

At approximately 1:30 a.m., Kevin was awakened by two loud, disturbing groans. Opening his eyes, he saw Patti's feet on her pillow and her head at the end of the bed. She was not breathing. She did not have a pulse. Patti was in cardiac arrest.

The race against time

Kevin's experience as a Marine immediately kicked in. He pulled Patti onto the floor and began cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), performing chest compressions and breathing air through Patti's nose, as her jaw had clamped shut.

In between compressions, Kevin dialed 911, and quickly ran downstairs to turn on the lights and unlock the front door for the emergency medical services (EMS) team. When the team arrived, Kevin had to be convinced to let them take over for him on CPR. "Patti is my best friend, the love of my life," says Kevin. "She wasn't dying on my watch."

Patti was in the ambulance on the way to the hospital 45 minutes after Kevin first awoke. She still did not have a pulse. The EMS team continued to perform CPR in their relentless efforts to resuscitate her.

Kevin followed them in his car, parking next to the ambulance at the front door. As the medical team rushed Patti into the emergency room, Kevin told the lead physician, "Don't come back out here unless you have good news."

Still, Kevin knew the odds were against them. He sat in the waiting room for two agonizing hours before the doctor emerged.

He shared that Patti had survived. And that Kevin's ability to immediately perform CPR saved her life.

The road to recovery

Patti lay unconscious in the hospital for several days as she began to heal. On April 27, when she was awake, her medical team implanted a defibrillator — a small, battery-powered device that sits under the skin, usually just beneath the collarbone, with thin wires that connect to the heart through the blood vessels. The device delivers an electric shock to the heart if it beats too quickly, too slowly or erratically. Patti was released the following the procedure.

"When I first came home, I could barely walk a few steps," recalls Patti. "It took a good month to rebuild my strength."

"Patti was diagnosed with two heart conditions that require ongoing treatment and monitoring," explains Main Line Health's Maribel Hernandez, MD, Medical Director, Women's Heart Initiative — she has served as Patti's cardiologist for the past year, since her previous physician moved out of state. "She has cardiomyopathy — an abnormality in the heart muscle that leads to difficulty pumping blood properly; and she has ventricular arrhythmia, which refers to an irregular heartbeat. These conditions are directly connected to one another, and both were caused by damage resulting from her heart attack in 1993. This is what led to her cardiac arrest in 2015."

Patti continues to take medications for her clotting disorder, and since 2015, takes medication for her more recently diagnosed heart conditions. She has a home monitor for her defibrillator, which is also closely monitored in real time by Dr. Hernandez's office. Every six months, she sees Dr. Hernandez, who reports that Patti's cardiovascular health is stable, and she should continue to do well.

"Not only did Kevin save Patti's life, but he saved her quality of life," states Dr. Hernandez. "His ability to perform CPR kept blood flowing to Patti's body and brain, preventing what could have been neurological damage during the time it took for EMS to arrive. I cannot stress enough how invaluable CPR training is for everyone."

Fast action saves lives

"If you want to be a superhero, learn CPR," says Patti. "I still haven't really grasped the fact that my husband saved my life."

Main Line Health offers ongoing CPR courses and makes onsite visits to conduct training. The American Heart Association offers CPR training as well.

"I used to hate it when the birds outside woke me up at 5:30 a.m.," shares Patti. "Now each morning when they wake me, I think to myself, you guys can make all the noise you want!"

Next steps:

Make an appointment with Maribel Hernandez, MD
Learn about heart and vascular care at Main Line Health