Thanks to a defibrillator, a patient survived two episodes of cardiac arrest in a 24-hour period! The dramatic story began when Mohammed Hizbon, 85, a Mazra village resident, arrived to Galilee Medical Center after he lost consciousness for a few seconds. An examination to monitor his heart rate, conducted by Dr. Ron Sela, Director of the Pacemaker and Electrophysiology Unit, revealed that something was amiss, and he implanted a defibrillator (a small device that treats disturbances in heart rate that may lead to cardiac arrest) in Hizbon’s body.
Several days after his discharge from the hospital, he went to his local health clinic for a follow-up examination. During a conversation with the consulting doctor, Dr. Jamal Awad, who also happens to be the head of our Internal Medicine Department 6, Hizbon suddenly collapsed but recovered and got up after a few seconds as if nothing had happened. That evening, he had the same experience so he returned to the medical center for an urgent examination by Dr. Sela, which indicated that he had suffered two instances of cardiac arrest over a period of 24 hours and that the tiny defibrillator had saved his life twice.
Several days later Mohammed returned for another follow-up examination. During which he thanked Dr. Sela for implanting the defibrillator that saved his life twice within a short time. He also met with Dr. Awad who had treated him at the clinic, and he expressed his deep appreciation for the personal and professional treatment he received from both doctors and the entire staff.
Dr. Sela: “from my examination, it was clear beyond all doubt that the defibrillator saved Mohammed’s life two times. This proves how important it is, in certain cases, to implant a defibrillator in a patient’s body.”
Photo: Roni Albert