A series of intuitive decisions led Josh Pennington, Pastor of More Life Church in Newark, to the right place at the right time on September 4, 2013.  A few minutes’ difference in that day’s timeline could have been deadly for Josh when he suffered a heart attack at the young age of 35 years.

 

The day had started out normally for the Pennington family, which includes Josh, his wife, Angie, and their four children: 14-year-old twins Jacob and Julia, 12-year-old Audrianna and 11-year-old Alex.  Josh had just taken Alex to school when he noticed an unusual sensation.  “It was a slight discomfort in my chest,” Josh recalled.  “It was nothing major, but it was enough that I mentioned it to Angie.”  

 

Josh has a strong family history of heart disease.  Each of his grandfathers had suffered heart attacks – one at the age of 47, the other at the age of 51 – and his father survived a heart attack at the age of 55.  However, Josh was pretty confident that his heart was in good shape.  He was preparing to celebrate his 36th birthday in four days, and he led an active lifestyle.  

 

The chest pain soon subsided.  “But then I began to feel a dull pressure in my left arm,” Josh remembered.  “I knew that pain in the arm is a warning sign of a heart attack.”  Even so, he was still unsure whether he was experiencing a serious problem.

 

Josh called his sister-in-law, a certified nurse practitioner, for advice.  Her response was firm.  “She said I needed to go to the emergency room right away,” Josh said, “but I was still in denial.  I decided to take a shower and change clothes.  If I still had the pain, I thought I would have Angie drive me to the Hospital.”

 

Reflecting on his reluctance to call 911 for help, Josh admits that he was irrationally trying to avoid possible embarrassment.  “In my mind, I thought I could not be having a heart attack because I was only 35.  I did not want to be the guy who called the squad for a case of indigestion or gas,” he explained.  

 

Josh noticed the discomfort was following a pattern – after a period of chest pressure, his arm would hurt, then all pain would subside for a while.  In the shower, his symptoms returned with more intensity, and he asked Angie to call 911.

 

“I really had intended to have Angie drive me to the Hospital, but at the last minute, I just had a feeling that we should call the squad.  That was a very big decision.  The squad was there in seven minutes, and began giving me care immediately.  Before they arrived, the mental side of my condition was very distressing.  They brought a sense of calm, and I felt as though I could relax.”

 

The emergency medical technicians (EMTs) transmitted Josh’s vital signs and EKG results directly to the Emergency Department at Licking Memorial Hospital (LMH).  His heart rate and blood pressure appeared to be normal, but Emergency Medicine Physician Scott D. Jolly, D.O., instructed the EMTs to give Josh a dose of nitroglycerin in case a heart attack was occurring.

 

When Josh arrived at LMH, the squad’s transmitted information allowed him to bypass the normal registration and triage processes.  Josh remembered, “They brought me straight back to one of the patient examining rooms, and I saw Dr. Jolly right away.  I know that arriving by the squad gave me access to more expedient care than I would have had otherwise.”

 

Josh’s signs and symptoms were not following a typical course for a heart attack.  His EKG results were inconclusive, and he had not felt any chest or arm pain since the squad arrived at his home.  Despite Josh’s young age and apparent lack of symptoms, Dr. Jolly suspected that some cardiac condition existed.  He recommended that Josh be admitted overnight for observation and testing.

 

While Josh was being set up in the Coronary Care Unit, Hospitalist Khanh V. Dang, M.D., stopped by to introduce himself and explain the tests that would be performed.  “I had a heart attack right in front of him, and a STEMI (ST segment elevation myocardial infarction) alert was announced,” Josh said.  “The room filled up immediately with at least 15 staff members.  The pain was terrible, but I knew that they were going to take care of it.”

 

Another EKG test was quickly performed, and it verified that a heart attack was occurring.  Josh was quickly taken to the cardiac catheterization lab, where Interventional Cardiologist Hassan Rajjoub, M.D., found that Josh’s left anterior descending artery was 99 percent blocked, a condition commonly called “the widow maker.”  Dr. Rajjoub implanted a stent in Josh’s artery, and blood flow was successfully restored.

 

Josh was dismissed from the Hospital on September 6, and has resumed normal activities.  He is confident that if he had not already been at LMH when he went into full cardiac arrest, he would not have celebrated his 36th birthday.  For the sake of his family, he is thankful that he fought through his fear of embarrassment to call 911.  He is appreciative of the prompt, reassuring care that he received from the EMTs, and he is grateful to the skilled, attentive medical team at LMH whose professional training and intuitive attention to detail saved his life.