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LIBIN LIFE
Mind matters
Institute addressing the mental health needs of patients with implanted cardiac devices
By Dawn Smith
I
n 2018, two weeks after receiving a cardiac defibrillator to treat his atrial fibrillation, David Hunt, 78, was doing spring cleanup in his yard. Spying some gravel lying in the grass, he let his shovel head rest against the ground and bent down to pick up the small rocks. At that moment, he felt a jolt rip through his body as his defibrillator
shocked his heart back into rhythm. The sensation sent him staggering to his deck and calling for his wife.
off. Ultimately, it changed Hunt’s life.
“I felt like it blew my head off,” says Hunt. “It went through my nose, ears and head.”
Fearing a repeat, he stopped doing some of the things he enjoyed, like gardening and using his truck and trailer, because he felt the risk of another shock was too high.
Although the shock likely saved his life, the physical trauma caused anxiety, heightened by the fact that there were no warning signs before the defibrillator went
“I started to evaluate the activities I enjoyed and think ‘I can’t do these things,’” he says. “It really affected my quality of life and my ability to enjoy life.”
