Randy Eddy never thought a heart attack would happen to him. He was bailing hay on a warm summer day when he started to feel really hot and couldn’t catch his breath. “I was sweating like I’d just gotten out of a hot shower. I mean, it was running off me,” he said. “And then my left arm started hurting, and I thought, ‘I’m in big trouble now.’” Instinctively, Randy called the one person he knew he could always ask for help – his wife Denise, who was working as the lab manager at Mercy Centerville. Denise knew something wasn’t right, so she left work to try to help. An ambulance from Mercy Centerville followed Denise into the farm field. EMS performed a 12-lead EKG that showed Randy was having a heart attack, and they knew he would need specialized cardiac care at Mercy Medical Center – Des Moines. EMS initiated Mercy’s Level 1 Heart Attack Protocol from the field, which activated the Mercy One helicopter in Knoxville. “Time saved is heart muscle saved,” said Mary Lou Sales, R.N., Emergency Department manager and one of the first ED nurses to treat Randy. “When a person has a heart attack, something is blocking the flow of blood through arteries to the heart. The longer that blockage lasts, the more death of heart muscle you will have. So the ultimate thing to do is get the patient as quickly as possible to a cardiac catheterization lab that can open up the artery.” Mercy One arrived minutes after Randy reached the Centerville hospital and minutes later, he was in the air. Twenty-eight minutes later Mercy One landed in Des Moines. “People were just everywhere,” said Randy. “Everybody had a job to do, and they were doing it. They’ve got a system in place...it was like a well-oiled machine.” Eleven minutes after arrival at Mercy Medical Center – Des Moines, a life-saving stent, which restored blood flow back to his heart, was placed by Dr. L.A. Iannone, Iowa Heart Center interventional cardiologist. “Eleven minutes. It just seems unbelievable to me,” Randy said. Not more than 72 hours after it all began, Randy and Denise were on their way back to their farm in Centerville. “It’s surreal to me,” said Denise. “Three days ago, my whole world just stopped. And now, somebody gave it back to me.” Today, follow-up visits show the quick treatment Randy received not only saved his life, but also his heart muscle. Randy said, “I have no damage. To me, that’s unbelievable.” “Randy was very lucky to recognize his symptoms and get help quickly,” said Dr. Iannone. “He has no heart damage because of the early detection, rapid transport and streamlined care.” Even today, the events of that warm summer day still live vividly in Denise’s mind. She knows how close she came to losing the man she fell in love with, the husband she married, the father of her children – her partner, her life. “I didn’t know if I was 15 minutes from my world changing,” she said. “Mercy took care of Randy and they took care of me. And really gave me back everything I wanted.” Learn More For more information about Mercy’s Level 1 Heart Attack Protocol and its certified Chest Pain Center, visit www. mercydesmoines.org/heart. Remember, if you think you are experiencing a heart attack, call 911 immediately.