On Monday, March 27, Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport hosted a heart recovery reunion for a local heart failure patient and the members of Ochsner LSU Health who cared for him during his time of need.

"Today we are here because a patient is revisiting us," said Dr. George Mina, Interventional Cardiologist at Ochsner LSU Health. "This patient came to us with a major heart attack and actually his heart stopped, and he was pretty much dead."

Calvin Scott, 44, a teacher and mental health counselor went to Ochsner emergency room on Dec. 29, 2021, due to a severe burning sensation in his back. Scott said, "it was unbearable, and I asked my sister to take me to the hospital."

Upon arrival, he collapsed, and health care workers began performing multiple rounds of CPR. He was taken to the catheterization lab with cardiogenic shock, which means the heart cannot adequately pump blood and oxygen to the brain and vital organs.

Mina implanted the Impella CP device in Scott's chest which allowed his heart to rest before the stent procedure. Although, efforts were made with the Impella device, Scott's oxygen levels began to decrease and he was place on ECMO, a life-support device that provides oxygen to the lungs.

After three days of support, Scott’s heart function began to improve and ECMO was removed. Two days after that, Impella was weaned and removed. A week after collapsing in the hospital, Scott returned home and a year later, he has recovered and is back at work full-time and is even coaching his schools cheer team.

"I work out and exercise daily," said Scott. "I am back to my normal activities." He said he never feared not being able to get back to his normal life.

"It's very rewarding to us when we put all that effort and see the patient's completely back to normal," said Mina. "I guess there isn't any words to describe how that feels when you see patients like this. I'm very grateful that he had that good of an outcome and hopefully we continue to do the same to all the patients that we treat."

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Makenzie Boucher is a reporter with the Shreveport Times. Contact her at mboucher@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport hosted a reunion event Monday morning for a heart patient