Sue K.

Sue Kassel was doing laundry at her home on the west side of Kokomo on a Sunday evening in late January when her chest and left arm began to hurt.

The 77-year-old had never had problems with her heart before but recognized the signs of a heart attack and asked her husband to call 911. When medics from Community Howard arrived they began treatment immediately.

In the ensuing minutes Sue would go on to go in to full cardiac arrest and was resuscitated in the Emergency Department with chest compressions and a defibrillator.

Due to the cardiac arrest and concern that she might have a blockage, Sue was taken to one of the two heart catheterization labs in the hospital by interventional cardiologist Dr. Rajesh Mallela.

The initial angiogram showed that she had critical blockages in all three arteries. Knowing that she would not survive without hemodynamic support, Dr. Mallela put in an Impella device that would help pump blood while the blockages were fixed.

Sue woke up under the attentive care of the ICU staff.

“I have never felt so taken care of,” she said. “They were just awesome. I cannot say enough. They treated me like I was a queen. That’s what I felt like.”

A day later Dr. Mallela removed the temporary Impella pump and the following day Sue returned home – sore, but grateful.

“God wasn’t ready for me yet,” she said.

Sue and Dr. Mallela know the outcome might have been different had she not received interventional care so quickly.

“I’m not sure she would have made it had she been transferred to Indianapolis instead of being treated onsite,” said Dr. Mallela. “When you are having a heart attack you have a narrow window of time to open the artery back up. We are very fortunate as a community that Community Howard has the resources and the staff available at all times to perform these types of life-saving interventional procedures.”

Just months after her heart attack, Sue is progressing through cardiac rehab and looks forward to again being active volunteering with her church.