CARING LIKE FAMILY YOUNG METHODIST HOSPITAL PATIENT WITH ALL ODDS AGAINST HIM RECEIVES SUCCESSFUL HEART TRANSPLANT.
Justin Chauret, 36, is a full-time father and proud H-E-B employee. He led a life with a strict fitness regimen and healthy eating habits; he was in the best shape of his life. Though one day Justin faced difficulty recovering from a workout; he believed it to be a side effect after recovering from COVID-19. Justin remembers having problems breathing and an elevated heart rhythm one afternoon. Though, stubborn to receive care, he presented to a health clinic inside H-E-B where an EKG alarmed the nurse, urging that Justin rush to the hospital. Justin drove himself to a nearby emergency facility. His echocardiogram showed an ejection fraction (measurement of the percentage of blood leaving your heart each time it squeezes) of 25 percent, suggesting chronic change. He was administered some heart failure medications and was put on IV medication to make his heartbeat stronger. Shortly after, his blood pressure dropped dramatically and he went into rapid response; he was found to be in heart and kidney failure. Despite the measures taken, Justin’s condition was worsening and he was placed on dialysis and transferred to Methodist Hospital. The rest is a blur to him.
12 | Methodist Magazine
Upon arrival to Methodist Hospital, Justin was in cardiogenic shock and immediately taken into surgery for a ventricular heart pump to stabilize his heart. As his oxygen was worsening, he was also placed on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), an advanced form of prolonged cardiac and pulmonary life support. When Justin was removed from ECMO after a few days, his oxygen levels immediately dropped and was placed back on ECMO the same day. “Justin’s case was a very complex, clinical dilemma since he suffered from two critical conditions suddenly; he had severe heart failure and a rare and life-threatening respiratory failure,” commented Chandra Kunavarapu, MD, Medical Director of the Advanced Heart Failure and Cardiac Transplant Program. “He was on the most critical mechanical support devices, and we had to pause on listing him for a heart transplant and focused on treating his pulmonary condition separately.” Justin recalls the moment Dr. Kunavarapu told him, “Your heart no longer works and we’re going to find a replacement.” He remembers the defeating realization that he may not survive. “I wasn’t going to leave my wife without a husband and my son without a father.”
