Glenn, 70, is a retired hospital administrator and financial planner from Elizabethtown, KY. A father, grandfather and devoted husband of 46-years. Glenn loves spending time with this family and visiting with former clients that have become some of his closest friends over the years.
What he thought would be a typical day at the gym turned out to be anything but that when he began to experience shortness of breath within a few minutes of starting his workout. As he struggled to catch his breath, he felt his heart racing and decided to sit down before cautiously making it through his workout. Over the next couple of days, Glenn continued to experience shortness of breath and a racing heart. He and his wife, Karen, knew it was time to get to Norton’s Audubon Hospital in Louisville, KY.
Glenn arrived at the emergency department where his blood work and CT scan confirmed a pulmonary embolism. He was admitted to the hospital at 7:00 PM and started on oxygen and heparin, an anticoagulant medication. Glenn’s condition worsened, and Dr. Daniel Rothschild, interventional cardiologist, was urgently consulted for treatment options.
“Glenn was in clear distress and his lab work and imaging clearly demonstrated his pulmonary embolism was life-threatening. The decision was made to intubate him and use FlowTriever to aspirate the blood clots from his lungs that night.” said Dr. Rothschild.
The procedure was successful, and Glenn woke up at 2:00am to call his wife to let her know he was alive. “Although I do not remember anything about the procedure, I was able to breath without any difficulty or coughing as soon as I woke up. I was up and walking around the nurse’s station within 36 hours and went home three and a half days after my procedure.” said Glenn about his quick recovery. Without any history of blood clots, he was surprised to learn that he in fact had a genetic blood clotting disorder known as Factor V Leiden and MGUS, a disease that can also cause blood clots. “I’ve always been a healthy guy. I thought maybe I was having a heart attack that day. Blood clots never crossed my mind.” said Glenn
Glenn is feeling great today and is back to a full exercise routine without any shortness of breath. An echocardiogram of his heart one month after the procedure showed the strain his heart experienced from the pulmonary embolisms had fully resolved. “I am truly amazed with the sophistication of the procedure and the skill of Dr. Rothschild. The fact that I did not need an open surgical chest procedure to remove the blood clots is just incredible. I am forever grateful for Dr. Rothschild and the all the medical professionals that helped save my life.” said Glenn.