DuPage hospital stops heart attack in 14 minutes

Ken Roush was feeling stressed last month over the stock market's plunges when he suffered what could have been a fatal heart attack.

But quick-acting emergency personnel and a record-breaking medical procedure saved the Glen Ellyn man's life.

"It's nice to see you again ... from the bottom of my heart," Roush said to the cardiologist and one of the paramedics who treated him. The trio was reunited Tuesday at Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove.

Roush, a 74-year-old marketing consultant, recalled how he started to feel uncomfortable on Oct. 9 while driving to work.

"I started to feel sweaty, but I still didn't know what was going on," he said.

Roush turned around and went straight home. His wife then called 911, and Lisle-Woodridge Fire District paramedics Mike Egan and Scott Rubo were at the house within five minutes.

As part of the "Cardiac Alert" protocol established by Good Samaritan Hospital, the paramedics performed an EKG test, notified the hospital about Roush's condition and transported him while staff awaited his arrival.

Cardiologist Peter Kerwin performed a lifesaving emergency cardiac catheterization, which involved placing a stent in Rouch's heart to reopen a blocked artery, within 14 minutes. The national average of completing the procedure is about 90 minutes.

Roush was discharged with very little heart damage.

Kerwin, founder of the Cardiac Alert protocol, said the paramedics were educated in conducting EKG tests and empowered to call the hospital.

"We feel that's made a tremendous impact," he said. "We're one of the first places in the country to do this, and it's really made a difference nationwide."

Fourteen minutes is the quickest the hospital's ever performed the procedure, which surgeons usually encounter about 10 times each month.

The patient is at highest risk within the first two hours of the heart attack, Kerwin said.

"With the type of heart attack (Roush) had," Kerwin said, "anything could have happened."

Now, Roush, who continues to eat healthy and exercise regularly, can breathe better.

"Physically, I feel much better than I did a year ago," he said. "It is easier to get around."