MercyOne Siouxland Medical Center heart providers save a man’s life, more than once

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Dan McManus, 68, of Dakota Dunes, South Dakota, thought he had a bad chest cold. It turned out he was having a heart attack. 

“My wife, Ann, is a retired nurse anesthetist, and she decided I was feeling so poorly that we needed to go to the Emergency Department at MercyOne. I was there for about five minutes, and suddenly heart doctors were in my room. I learned I was having a heart attack,” Dan said.  

Looking back, Dan says he should have known he had something more serious than a chest cold, “Like my wife, I have a background in the medical field as a retired veterinarian, but it just didn’t cross my mind that my symptoms were linked to a heart problem. I didn’t have any of the usual issues associated with a heart attack, like jaw or arm pain.” 

Dan was taken to MercyOne Siouxland Heart and Vascular Center Cath Lab, where interventional cardiologist Nabil Braiteh, MD, put in three stents to open one of Dan’s blocked coronary arteries The next day, Curtis Hoogendoorn, ARNP, stopped in to visit with Dan. “After the procedure I had, about 5 to 10% of patients end up with a heart arrythmia, so Curtis wanted me to wear a LifeVest at home for a while just in case.” The LifeVest is a wearable defibrillator that, if needed, sends an electrical shock to the heart to put it back in rhythm. 

LifeVest is lifesaving 

Over the next few days, Dan was fitted for his LifeVest, given instructions about how to use it and was sent home wearing it. “The day after I got home with the vest, I was sitting and visiting with my wife and one of my children, and I blacked out. The vest shocked me back to life.” 

Dan had ventricular tachycardia, which is life-threatening. Had he not been wearing the LifeVest, Dan could have died within minutes.  

Dan’s wife called 911 and an ambulance took Dan back to MercyOne Siouxland Emergency Department where an electrophysiologist told Dan they needed to insert a permanent defibrillator in Dan’s chest. “That’s the last thing I remember before I coded right in front of the doctor.” 

The next thing Dan remembers is waking up the following morning to his wife telling him to “just stay calm and swallow” while a breathing tube was being removed. “The next day, Thursday, they inserted a pacemaker. I went home on Friday.” 

After six weeks of cardiac rehabilitation at MercyOne Siouxland Heart and Vascular Center, Dan made a full recovery. “Barb Gunter and the rehab team were great, and I responded quickly.” 

Family history makes a difference 

Heart disease runs in Dan’s family, and his father died from a heart attack at age 47, but Dan hadn't had any health issues, such as high blood pressure, except for high cholesterol. “I’d taken statins in the past, but they caused me muscle pain, so I went off of them.”  

Now, Dan says he feels “awesome,” and his follow-up visits have all been positive. “I’m so thankful to the team at the MercyOne Siouxland Heart and Vascular Center. It’s a miracle that I am sitting here,” Dan said. He also mentioned a silver lining, “I have three sons and a daughter, and after all that happened to me, they went into their providers and got checked out for any signs of heart disease. We’ve all learned that no matter how healthy you are, you can’t run away from genetics.” 

Thankful for good care 

Dan and Ann can now fully enjoy their retirement, knowing that Dan’s heart is healthy and he has a great medical team if needed in the future. “The care at MercyOne was outstanding, from the nurses to the technicians to the doctors. I truly owe them my life.”