Patient Stories

Cardiovascular Patient

“ Birth: August 11, 1963 Death: Postponed ”

Frank
Frank Lippolis has his life back thanks to St. Luke's Cornwall Hospital's ability to utilize the most sophisticated technology to enhance patient care. Dr. Mehul Patel, an SLCH cardiologist, recommended that Frank use one of those tools so that his atrial fibrillation could be diagnosed and treated. Atrial fibrillation is a condition where the upper chambers of the heart beat irregularly causing symptoms such as heart palpitations, shortness of breath, weakness, dizziness and chest pain. With the AliveCor Heart Monitor, Dr. Patel was able to accurately and quickly diagnose Frank's condition when he was showing signs of being in a-fib, therefore saving Frank several diagnostic tests and a potential hospital admission. It connects to an Apple, Microsoft or Android based mobile device and allows the user to produce a 30-second heart rhythm that can be e-mailed directly to a physician. Whenever the results are identified as atrial fibrillation, Dr. Patel arranges to meet Frank at the SLCH Cardiac Catheterization Lab for outpatient Electrical Cardioversion which restores his normal heart rhythm. Frank was even able to return to work the same day. The ability to diagnose and treat quickly is especially critical when dealing with atrial fibrillation. If the episode is not recognized and treated in a timely manner, several steps must be taken to ensure there is not a blood clot present before restoring a normal heart rhythm. "I want to do all the things that I want to do, and I don't want to hear that I can't do them because of some inability with my body," said Frank. "When they gave me this device, they told me, Go back to your life. To have my cardiologist tell me to go back to my life is pretty great."