Emergency heart surgery, new app, save Queens dad
QUEENS (WABC) -- One person dies every 33 seconds from heart disease and it is the leading cause of death globally.
A young father from Queens experienced a heart attack so severe, it is often called a 'widow maker.'
Only 13% of victims survive.
He fought to live and now he is educating others.
Umair and Teju Qadeer love playing in the park with their son Kabir.
"He's very active. He likes to ride the swings. He likes to ride the slides," Umair said.
But last November, that was almost taken away from them.
After a routine workout, Umair tried to catch his breath.
"I was waiting for my body to start feeling normal. But instead of tapering off, it kept almost getting worse," he said.
Then he started to feel pain in his chest.
"It just felt like my heart couldn't breathe," Umair said.
His wife called for help.
"When he said ... 'I think you need to call 911,' I was like, okay, this is serious," Teju said.
The paramedics confirmed he was having a heart attack and rushed him to Mount Sinai when he learned his artery was 100% blocked.
Umair feared he wouldn't make it to his son's second birthday.
"I did have the thought cross my mind ... when I sort of heard his voice say, like, 'Dada,' you know, in my head," Umair said. "I can not, absolutely can not let this kid grow up without with only stories about his dad, and no memories of his dad, and that just really made me pull through."
Dr. Murphy, a cardiologist at Mount Sinai in Queens, was determined to help Umair see his son again, and performed an emergency heart stent procedure.
"It basically immediately showed that he was having the worst form of heart attack," Dr. Murphy said. "When an elevation heart attack comes in, with a click of two buttons, it alerts the entire team in the hospital that is required to respond," Dr. Murphy said.
Doctors credit their new heart attack app and expedited care for saving Umair's life.
"And it's just been great to see the innovation in this area working on making our systems more and more efficient so we can have outcomes like we did," Dr. Murphy said.
All for this moment when dad returned home from the hospital.
"They saved my life. And what more could I want? What more could I ask for?" Umair said.
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