Upon his arrival, the clinic staff connected him to a 12-Lead EKG monitor and saw it was obvious that things were not exactly right with his heart waves. Indications were that Ken was having a heart attack. The EKG revealed that his left anterior descending artery was blocked. This artery supplies the blood to the left ventricle which is responsible for moving oxygenated blood.

Warsaw-Lincoln Ambulance was called in order to transfer Ken to a hospital. The ambulance crew members also used their EKG monitor in order to keep a close watch on Ken’s status. Before leaving the parking lot of the clinic, they determined that Ken had to get to a facility with a cardiac catheter lab quickly.  Based on the distance and the urgency of Ken’s condition, rapid transport by air ambulance was deemed necessary and LifeFlight Eagle was requested to take him to Cox South in Springfield.

Awake and alert the whole time, Ken told the ambulance crew that he was a LifeFlight Eagle member. Shortly thereafter, LifeFlight Eagle arrived from the Clinton base. Flight Medic, Joe Coons, and Flight Nurse, Joey Araiza, quickly examined Ken and loaded him onto the aircraft.

Once in the helicopter and en route, Coons and Araiza ran another 12-lead EKG on Ken which showed his heart attack was progressing and the heart muscle was starving for oxygen.

A second IV was started and a Nitroglycerin drip was initiated. Nitroglycerin dilates the coronary arteries which may allow some blood to get by the blockage, decreasing the pain. However, Ken says his chest pain continued during the flight.

Report was called to Cox South to inform them that LifeFlight Eagle was en route with a STEMI patient. STEMI stands for ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction (ST is a segment of an EKG tracing). STEMI patients need immediate evaluation and interventions upon arrival at a hospital. Upon landing Coons and Araiza hurried Ken to the Emergency Department. The doctor on duty confirmed Ken was having a heart attack and whisked him away to the Cardiac Catheter Lab. 

Ken underwent an angioplasty to clear the 100% blockage in his artery. He also had a stent placed in the artery to allow normal blood flow to resume. At this point, his pain was gone and things were back to normal. Without the stent, there was a good chance he would have died.

By the afternoon, Ken was sitting up in bed eating lunch. He spent two days in the hospital under observation and went home.

“It’s very encouraging to see the whole system work to save a life,” says Joe Coons. “We’re always very glad to be a part of that system.”