A local man is on the road to recovery after the episode at the Wyandotte gym

To say that a local man beat the odds of mortality is an understatement.

The American Heart Association revealed that cardiac arrests claim 436,000 lives annually, classifying them as a public health crisis. More than 350,000 suffer outside the hospital; 70-90% of which are fatal.

This silent killer is deadlier than cancer, car accidents, HIV, firearms, house fires, flu and pneumonia.

A misconception about using an AED is that it is dangerous and that the user or patient can be harmed by the shock. Modern defibrillators are safe, effective and easy to use.

And they can actually save a life. Wyandotte resident Tom Roberts is all too familiar with what AEDs do, as one was used to save his life on December 7, 2022.

The architect and father of two went to Fighting Fit, a local crossfit gym in Wyandotte where he had spent the past few years working out and socializing several times a week.

“I’ve always been active and had an active lifestyle,” Roberts said. “I was in my mid-40s when I was looking for something to do. I started getting into shape at the gym I’ve been at for the past seven years.”

During his workout tonight, Roberts remembers a minute he was doing push-ups. The next memory he has is waking up in the hospital the next day.

“I wasn’t doing anything that I considered excessive in intensity,” he said.

One difference Roberts notes when he looks back on that night was that he didn’t stop exercising when he felt lightheaded or dizzy like he had previously.

“I just kept going. I got over what I was feeling,” he said.

That night, he went into cardiac arrest. The upper chambers (right and left atrium) of his heart and the lower chambers (right and left ventricles) were confused and did not communicate, causing his heart to stop.

If performed immediately, CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) can double or triple a person’s chances of survival. Survival decreases by 7-10% every minute that the patient is without help.

Fortunately, Roberts’ friends recognized something was wrong almost immediately.

“It took them about 20 seconds to realize I wasn’t getting up,” he said.

About two minutes passed from the time those around him knew he needed help when his heart was returned to its normal rhythm by the AED. Then it took another five minutes for the EMTs to arrive. Robert’s next memory is waking up in hospital the next day.

Roberts doesn’t stop at what if. But his body was sending him signals. Signs I ignored.

“During COVID I had a few episodes where I felt bad, I felt different. I didn’t think anything of it. I worked too hard,” he said.

He has since been diagnosed with supraventricular tachycardia (SVT). He has a fast heart rate. This rapid heart rate arises in the upper chambers of the muscle. A cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD), a device that monitors his heart rate, has also been placed in his chest. This two-inch square device that sits under your skin serves as both a pacemaker and a defibrillator. He jokingly refers to it as his $50,000 lifeline.

Roberts says her recovery was difficult.

“I couldn’t do much for about six weeks,” he said, recalling that lifting anything heavier than ten pounds, swinging his left arm overhead, and the hardest for Roberts, the high-intensity workouts and super intensity were off limits. I could only do moderate intensity sessions.

“It took me a while to honestly understand what that meant in terms of all the exercise I’ve done. What did moderate activity look like? I had to figure that out,” he said.

He also had to ignore what his body was urging him to do.

“I had no physical limitations. My body would tell me I’m fine, I can push myself harder. But my brain would tell me to stop or slow down. It’s a mental awareness to think and slow down, even though I think physically I can do it all,” he said.

Since that incident, he has only been surprised three times when his SVT went out of control. His ICD allowed doctors to read his heart. But it was the ignorance and inability to solve the problem that caused Robert’s mental distress.

“Up until that point, they really didn’t have an idea of ​​what was causing this,” he said. “That was one of the hardest things for me to understand,” he admitted. “Why did this happen to me? Why is this happening to me? Will it happen again?”

As a result of her SVT, Roberts has had a cardiac ablation, a procedure where surgeons correct the heart’s rhythm. He is scheduled for another cardiac ablation in June.

He hasn’t talked much about his sudden cardiac arrest that night. That experience has affected his life in ways he had never considered. It changed his perspective and made him examine his roles and relationships.

“Mentally, it has changed my perspective on many things. I look at many of the sacrifices I have made for my business for most of my life. They are not that important. I love what I do. I am very passionate about architecture. I’m looking at life through very different glasses than I did 16 months ago,” he said.

Tom Roberts before his sudden cardiac arrest never thought this could happen to him. It was always happening to someone else. He was invincible, Super Man. not anymore He has come to realize and prioritize the people and work projects that are most important to him.

Roberts summed it up perfectly: “Life is short.”