Resilience in recovery after heart attack: Rick’s story

Richard "Rick" Drummond, 61, was making the most of his retirement, spending time with friends and family and enjoying his life-long hobby of fishing. "My life is fishing," says Rick proudly. "It's always been that."

On April 9, 2022, Rick split firewood in the morning and attended a Philadelphia Flyers game with his high school friend, Jim, in the evening. "That night when we got back, Jim left my house and I said, 'Sorry we lost, I'll talk to you soon,' and my next memory is from a month later," says Rick.

Life-saving cardiac care

Rick does not recall the details himself, but on April 12 — three days after the Flyers game — he suffered a ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) in his home. A STEMI is a type of heart attack caused by a complete blockage in a coronary artery.

Emergency medical services transported Rick to Bryn Mawr Hospital, part of Main Line Health, where he was immediately sedated and placed on a ventilator to help him breathe. "He was very sick when he presented," says John Steers, MD, cardiologist at Main Line Health, who oversees Rick's cardiovascular care. "They found multiple coronary artery blockages."

Sarang S. Mangalmurti, MD, interventional cardiologist at Main Line Health, performed an emergency cardiac catheterization and provided life-saving care. Rick required a stent to open a blocked artery, an intra-aortic balloon pump to temporarily assist his heart with pumping blood and a temporary pacemaker to stabilize his heart rate.

Finding motivation to heal

Rick remained on the ventilator for over two weeks. When he was taken off the ventilator, he realized the road to recovery would be an uphill battle. He was unable to walk or talk, and his short-term memory was nonexistent. "Basically, I lost everything," says Rick. "I didn't know my family. Everything was gone."

"Rick was pretty ill for quite a while," recalls Dr. Steers. "He had some cognitive issues, some issues being able to swallow food, persistent low blood pressures and a severely weakened heart muscle." In addition, Rick developed pneumonia and sepsis, which is widespread inflammation in the body triggered by his immune system's response to the pneumonia.

With the help of a multidisciplinary team of doctors, nurses, therapists, social workers and support staff at Bryn Mawr Hospital, Rick slowly began communicating and regaining his strength. Six weeks later, he was discharged to a long-term rehabilitation center, where he continued to heal with the help of skilled caregivers and a strong support system of sisters, nieces and nephews who visited regularly.

"You have to find some form of motivation. When you're lying in bed 24-hours a day for months, you need something to keep you going," says Rick. "I've always liked the 'Rocky' movie. I liked that speech where he said, 'It's not how hard you hit, it's how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.'"

Support after transitioning home

Two months after entering long-term rehabilitation, Rick was finally discharged home, but his healing journey was far from over. He continued to suffer from lightheadedness, shortness of breath and heart palpitations and needed to rebuild enough physical strength to attend cardiac rehabilitation at Bryn Mawr Hospital. This medically supervised program includes exercise, education and counseling to help patients recover from heart attack and reduce their risk for future heart problems.

"For a period of time, just getting out of bed was a challenge because Rick's blood pressure would drop and he'd get lightheaded," says Dr. Steers. "It took a while — almost a year — to just get him stabilized so he could attend cardiac rehab. Once he got in cardiac rehab, he started taking off and really feeling better."

Rick's heart was healing, but he continued to struggle with short-term memory and concentration issues that were interfering with day-to-day activities. At the suggestion of his sister, Rick scheduled a consultation with Christopher J. Reid, MD, neurologist at Main Line Health. Dr. Reid suggested that Rick's cognitive issues were likely related to anoxic encephalopathy and possible small vessel strokes, which are brain injuries that can be caused by lack of oxygen to the brain during a cardiac event, and referred Rick to cognitive behavior therapy at Bryn Mawr Rehabilitation Hospital.

Cognitive therapy helps patients with memory loss develop effective strategies to manage their symptoms. Rick still has some memory loss, but his dedication to therapy has improved his focus, attention and organization. "I'm stubborn. I'm the youngest of eight children. And the other thing is, I just can't give up. You've got to keep going," says Rick.

"Man, you haven't lost a thing"

Approaching the three-year anniversary of his heart attack, Rick is now enjoying cross-country travel, including a recent bucket-list road trip featuring stops at Mount Rushmore, Yellowstone National Park, the Grand Canyon and southern California for a Penn State vs. USC football game.

"I love to travel. Everyone asked me, 'Why are you going on that trip? You had a heart attack.' And I'm like, 'That's exactly why I'm going!'" says Rick.

"When Rick came back from the trip and said, 'I feel great,' that's when I knew he finally turned the corner," says Dr. Steers.

Rick's mental and physical recovery from his heart attack didn't happen overnight. He credits his strong family support system and the multidisciplinary team of providers at Main Line Health with saving his life and helping him return to the activities he loves.

"I've got to tell you, when I finally went fishing again it felt really strange. The first day it felt like picking up a new hobby. But by the end of the day, the guide looked and me and said, 'Man, you haven't lost a thing!'"

Next steps:

Make an appointment with John Steers, MD
Learn about heart and vascular care at Main Line Health
Learn about cardiac rehabilitation services at Main Line Health