Before Andy Bonafede’s heart attack symptoms, he was living a normal life. He walked his dog, played golf and tennis, spent time with his grandkids, and traveled for work. But after persisting chest discomfort following a business trip, his wife convinced him to go to the ER.

“My sense of something happening was very immediate,” said Andy. 

Andy’s tests landed him at Intermountain Health’s Saint Joseph Hospital, where he was rushed into bypass surgery with Dr. Megan Loo and Dr. Federico Milla.

“Our initial procedure was to do a bypass surgery where we borrow arteries and veins from within the body and put them into the heart, to give the heart an alternative path,” said Dr. Loo.

The initial left heart operation was successful, but things took a turn for the worst. Andy had another heart attack during the operation, caused by a different clogged artery in his right heart.

Dr. Loo informed Andy’s wife, Jeannie, that his heart had stopped. The surgeons opened his heart back up to see what was going on and used an extra corporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) device to keep his body functioning during complications.

“We were at a point where ECMO was the only means of restoring his circulation and preventing more dangerous organ dysfunction or death,” said Dr. Milla. “We were really trying to reverse those processes until we began to sort out what the issues were.”

“ECMO allowed part of his heart to take a rest, to get over the several heart attacks he had taken, and to give grafts time to provide his heart muscle more blood flow,” said Dr. Loo.

Over the course of several days, Dr. Loo and Dr. Milla watched Andy’s right heart improve. Eventually, they were able to slowly turn down the ECMO’s amount of support until Andy didn’t need it anymore.

“We used ECMO to rescue and support Mr. Bonafide until his right heart recovered and then we were able to remove the device,” said Dr. Milla.

After a 28 day stint in the hospital, including 21 days in the ICU, Andy was able to go home and get his life back. “I experienced professional, exceptional care from the surgeons, Dr. Loo and Dr. Milla, and the staff,” he said. “Everyone was tremendous and very caring.”

“Our ultimate goal was to help Andy get back to what he enjoys doing, playing tennis, being with his family, traveling, working, and all the things that he already had before surgery,” she said. “The ECMO machine really gave us the time to let his heart recover.”