HERSHEY, Pa. — Penn State Health staff members go the extra mile for their patients.
Sometimes patients also go the extra mile. Multiple miles, in fact.
Eddie Holman has taken 6.8-mile walks in the halls of Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. That’s an accomplishment for any patient, but doubly so for someone awaiting a heart transplant. While Holman awaits a new heart, his own weakened organ is sustained by a temporary ventricular assist device called the Impella 5.5 heart pump.
In fact, the former Marine and Chambersburg resident may have set a record for mobility with his walks, said Dr. Miriam Freundt, a critical care physician at the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. She presented his case at a recent American Heart Association meeting in Chicago.
The substitute
Holman arrived at Hershey Medical Center in early October for evaluation and diagnostic procedures. “They immediately decided to keep me,” he chuckles. “I’ve been here ever since,” while a donor heart match is sought.
Holman had been feeling short of breath for several months, even when doing something only mildly strenuous, like walking. An echocardiogram confirmed he needed immediate support for his failing heart, said Dr. Balakrishnan Mahesh, surgical director for heart transplants and mechanical circulatory support at Hershey Medical Center. “He had mitral valve surgery in 2011. The best outcome for him now is to receive a heart transplant.” But Holman has Type O blood, and patients in that group usually wait the longest for a donor heart because they can receive organs only from others with Type O.
To support Holman while he waits, Hershey Medical Center physicians implanted the Impella device shortly after he arrived. The device pumps blood from the left ventricle into the ascending aorta, essentially taking the place of a healthy heart by maintaining critical blood circulation.
“Since early 2020, we have had about 25 cases in which we used the Impella 5.5 device as a bridge to transplant,” Freundt said.
‘You drove yourself here?’
Holman’s journey to Hershey Medical Center began with a trip to the pharmacy. “I went to pick up a prescription. I had felt horrible over the weekend. I couldn’t sleep. My stomach felt full. The shortness of breath was worse,” he said. Prescription in hand, he decided not to drive home but to the local hospital’s emergency room.
“You drove yourself here?” he says ER staff asked after seeing his condition. Following treatment there and at another regional hospital, he was transferred to Hershey Medical Center, where he received the Impella device.
“The device is implanted through an artery in the shoulder,” Freundt explained. Earlier heart-assist equipment was implanted using an artery in the groin, essentially confining the patient to bed. In addition, the newer device can be used for a range of patients with heart failure ― not only those awaiting a heart transplant.
Making strides
“I wasn’t short of breath any longer after I got the device,” Holman said. He soon began taking laps around Penn State Heart and Vascular Institute's North Hall at Hershey Medical Center. He finds moving about with the Impella device to be like walking with a second intravenous stand.
“He immediately told me how good he felt,” Freundt said. “He was soon walking up to nine-tenths of a mile every day. I said ‘No way!’ By Day 5, he was up to 1.9 miles in one day. And Holman kept walking, setting a goal of reaching 6.8 miles. Before long, he met that challenge.
He currently walks an hour twice a day during day and evening shifts. Because longer exercise requires coordination with the availability of staff members to accompany him, those often-record-setting walks take place about once every two weeks. For safety, he is always accompanied by a member of the health care team.
His new goal is an even 7 miles in one day. “Six-point-eight is so close to seven that the new figure has been scratching at me,” he said, laughing.
“Mr. Holman’s determination truly is an inspiration to others,” Freundt said.