Lori Bradley

At 55, Lori Bradley was in pretty good health and had never experienced any type of cardiac problems that she recalled. Then, Hurricane Michael swept through the panhandle and, like most everyone in the region, she found herself outside cleaning up debris and working on projects around her house. “I started getting tired really fast and kept having to stop and rest,” she said. “Then I began having pain under my ribs, shortness of breath, and pretty much collapsed. I actually thought I was having some sort of digestive issue but my family pushed me to go the ER at Gulf Coast Hospital.”

During that first visit in early November, she was treated and discharged with orders to follow up with a cardiologist. But as many patients will do, she felt better and just didn’t get around to it. Then in December, the shortness of breath became intolerable. “I was very weak and just felt like I couldn't go on," she said. Her husband took her back to the ER but by this time her condition was much worse. “They moved really quickly at the hospital to take care of me,” she said.

“When Mrs. Bradley arrived in our ER the second time, she was very weak and tired,” said Don Davis, M.D. a board-certified Cardiologist with Gulf Coast Hospital Cardiology in Panama City. “She was suffering from severe cardiomyopathy — a weakness of the heart. Her ejection fraction, which is a measurement of the percentage of blood leaving the heart each time it pumps, was only 5% compared to a normal range of over 55%. To compensate, her heart rate was 120-130 beats per minute compared to a normal range of 60-100. She was literally exercising to keep her eyes open. Her organs were aching for oxygenated blood. She was in cardiogenic shock which is an acute condition caused when the heart can't pump enough blood to meet the needs of the body.”

Dr. Davis said a complicating factor for his patient was an extreme retention of fluid. “Normally your body contains a certain amount of fluid. She had an extra 5 to 6 liters of fluid which amounts to about 10 to 12 pounds. We had to deal with that but the potential solutions presented problems as well.” Mrs. Bradley was taken to the Intensive Care Unit where Dr. Davis and his colleagues determined their best course of action was to administer a drug called dobutomine to help relieve the pressure from the fluids. “We call this drug rocket-fuel,” he said. “It's a God-send but can be very dangerous for the patient.”

Fortunately for Mrs. Bradley the medication made her feel better immediately. As the fluids came off and they were able to discontinue the dobutomine they could move on to dealing with the underlying cardiac disease that brought her to the ER to begin with. “We started her on beta blockers which are heart failure medications. She was able to tolerate those and her blood pressure was stable,” said Dr. Davis. “We also decided to implant a biventricular internal cardioverter defibrillator (ICD).” An ICD is an implantable device that helps synchronize the beating of the heart.

For about nine days, Mrs. Bradley was cared for by the team at Gulf Coast Hospital. “I felt like I’d been given a second chance,” she said. “I was awake when they were putting in the ICD. I was frightened but it was such a relief to be able to breath. The ICU staff were very vigilant and caring and treated me with dignity. Each morning in the ICU a physical therapist would come in. They were some of the most bright, cheerful people I've ever met. They taught me to do things differently so I could manage basic daily tasks.”

“The cath lab staff at the hospital are completely outstanding,” she said. “They knew I was scared and used humor to lift my spirits. They went out of their way to make sure I felt safe. Dr. Davis is so compassionate and he took time to explain things in a way we could understand. I'm just so glad he was there and did what needed to be done for me.”

Mrs. Bradley is recuperating but taking things a day at a time. “I have to make lifestyle changes to deal with this condition,” she said. “But I’m doing so much better. I'm gradually building my stamina but I know I have to be vigilant and really pay attention to my activities and diet.”

“Our goal for Mrs. Bradley, like all of our patients, is ultimately to improve the quality of her life,” said Dr. Davis. “To have patients come in this sick is rare. Hopefully as she improves she can be obsessed with living a good life, not with her health.”