Volume 27
Number 4
February 19, 2016
Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
WHEN MINUTES COUNT
The fight to save a patient with a rare, deadly disease Kim Pimley returned home on January 5th from a wonderful vacation to Hawaii with her son. Within a few days, though, she was feeling “not quite right... but I figured it would pass,” she said. When her shortness of breath had not improved by that Monday, she decided to see her doctor, who said she looked fine but ordered a chest x-ray. Two days later — January 13th — after her x-ray showed pleural effusion (water in the lungs), she was admitted to the University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro. The following day, after “a million tests,” her cardiologist identified that she had severe cardiac dysfunction and arranged a transfer to HUP. What she initially thought was a minor complaint turned out to be something much more serious. In fact, it almost took her life.
JAN
T H U R S D AY 14
INSIDE Mind Your Brain: Helping TBI Survivors...............3 What’s New at the Center for Nursing Renewal? ..............3 Keep Patient Information Safe...3 Caring for a “Growing” Population..................................4 Join Penn’s Love Run Team!....4 Raising Colon Cancer Awareness..................................4 Heartfelt Thanks........................4
Pimley arrived at HUP by ambulance late Thursday afternoon and was immediately brought up to the Cardiac Care Unit on the service of Anjali Vaidya, MD, of the Heart Failure and Cardiac Transplant Program. Based on the appearance of her echocardiogram, the irregular heartbeat on telemetry, and how quickly Pimley’s condition seemed to be deteriorating, one diagnosis came to Vaidya’s mind: giant cell myocarditis. Giant cell myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart, is a very rare cardiovascular disorder that destroys the heart’s ability to beat normally. There is no known cause. A mere 300 cases — and very few studies — have been reported in the literature.
“Our program sees a lot of sick patients with heart failure,” Vaidya said. “But we not only know the exact number of cases of giant cell we’ve treated over the years but can also recite the names of the patients.” Vaidya had Pimley brought to the cardiac catheterization lab where Daniel Kolansky, MD, associate chief for Clinical Affairs in Cardiovascular Medicine, performed a diagnostic heart biopsy and a right heart catheterization to measure the pressures and flows of her heart. “When I first met Kim, it was evident she was in severe heart failure,” Vaidya said. Kolansky also placed an intra-aortic balloon pump to help increase blood flow. (Continued on page 2)
1