29-year-old stroke survivor is first in the world to try groundbreaking heart device
By Jessica Brown
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BOSTON (WCVB) — A breakthrough treatment is giving a Boston man a new lease on life after suffering a stroke at just 29 years old.
Twenty-nine-year-old Chris Jacquith is training for the Boston Marathon just months after suffering a stroke.
“I stood up off the couch and I immediately fell backwards, lost my balance. My right leg was kind of stiff, and so we’re like, OK, this is very odd,” Jacquith said.
His symptoms got worse throughout the day.
“I couldn’t really use my hands,” he said.
Jacquith rushed to Tufts Medical Center, where doctors confirmed he was in the middle of a stroke.
“As I got out of that CAT scan, they were like, you’re in the middle of a cerebellar stroke, you’re going to be okay, but we’re going to monitor vitals and keep you comfortable while your body gets through this,” Jacquith said.
Doctors discovered the cause. Chris had something many people never realize they have- a PFO, or patent foramen ovale. It’s a small hole between the upper chambers of the heart.
“It was all new information,” Jacquith said.
Dr. Carey Kimmelstiel, Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Lab and Interventional Cardiology at Tufts, says PFOs are common.
“Twenty-five percent of all humans walking on the earth have a PFO, so it’s very, very common,” Kimmelstiel said.
He also says most people will never know.
Doctors say that before birth, there’s a normal opening between the heart’s upper chambers that allows blood to bypass the baby’s developing lungs. It typically closes by age two. But for a quarter of people out there, for some reason, that never happens.
Kimmelstiel says that a small hole can allow a clot to pass through, interrupting blood flow to the brain and causing a stroke.
“Occasionally, this is a problem, and it’s a large number every year,” Kimmelstiel said.
To prevent another stroke, doctors recommended closing Chris Jacquith’s PFO. Typically, there are two FDA-approved devices for that. But Jacquith was offered the chance to become the first patient in the world to receive a new device currently in clinical trial.
The device covers the hole with two discs that become part of the heart tissue over time.
“This disc of it, if you will, would be on this side. The bigger disc would be on this side, and it would straddle the septum, and then tissue would grow around it,” Kimmelstiel said.
Imaging shows the device completely stops blood flow through the opening.
“And this is after I’ve closed it, you don’t see any more flow across it,” Kimmelstiel said.
Kimmelstiel says the major benefit of this new tool is that doctors can safely access that part of the heart again if another procedure is needed.
“We can go up with a catheter across the device without ruining the integrity of that device. This is a device that is resealable on its own because of the inherent properties of the material that’s used,” Kimmelstiel said.
Jacquith volunteered to be the first person to get it.
“I think you get the added benefit of one extra resource and eyes being on you from some really smart people, and two, potentially helping other people that might go through a similar thing later on. So that’s why it kind of felt like a no-brainer to me,” said Jacquith.
Months later, Jacquith is back on the treadmill training for his comeback in April.
“I’ve been just really fortunate and blessed,” Jacquith said.
Jacquith has been in physical therapy since his stroke. He’s working on his coordination and balance and making major improvements.
His marathon run will be for the Tufts team for stroke research. He says he’s trying to give back for all he was given.
As for the device that helped him, Dr. Kimmelstiel says he’s aiming for 15 patients before he presents his data to the FDA.
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