The Plainview Hospital has now treated 100 ST-elevation myocardial infarction, or STEMI, patients through its new cardiac catheterization laboratory.
The hospital held a celebration on May 12 to commemorate the milestone – a milestone that saved Walter Kerzner’s life.
A ST-elevation myocardial infarction is a type of heart attack that occurs when there is a sudden blockage of blood flow to the heart, leading to tissue death of the heart muscle, which, if not treated quickly, can lead to severe complications or death, according to the hospital.
Kerzner, a Hicksville resident, said he was grilling dinner when he discovered he was having a heart attack. He said he went to the store after running out of gas, and when he returned home, he began to feel pain in his chest.
“It was burning, like really bad,” he said.
Kerzner said he had a heart attack in 2009, giving him insight into how serious chest pains can be. He said he tried walking off the pain before telling his wife about what was going on.
“She goes, do you want me to call 9-1-1? And I was like, I don’t think I have the time for 9-1-1,” he said.
Kerzner’s wife drove him to Plainview Hospital, which is roughly 10 minutes away from their home by car. He said the hospital staff recognized he was having a heart attack and immediately started prepping him for surgery.
Kerzner had been transferred to the cath lab, where doctors successfully placed a stent through Walter’s wrist, a minimally invasive procedure known as a trans radial PCI.
“What was really cool was he went in there with a balloon or something like that, and he was able to open up the blockage, and he asked, ‘how’s the pain in your chest now?’ And I looked at it and said, I have no pain at all now,” Kerzner said. “It was the coolest thing.”
Kerzner ended up staying in the hospital for just 12 hours after the procedure, and he said he was grateful that everything went well.
The hospital said that it is proud of the milestone in a statement.
“This achievement highlights the skill and dedication of our interventional cardiologists and cardiac team. The advanced capabilities of our cardiac catheterization lab reaffirm that our community can trust and rely on us in their most critical moments,” the hospital said.
Plainview Hospital opened its cardiac catheterization laboratory in July 2023. The hospital said it has performed 1,756 cath lab procedures, treated 1,263 patients and conducted 469 percutaneous coronary interventions since it opened.
“We’ve built a program that the community can rely on in their most critical moments,” Kerri Scanlon, the president of Plainview Hospital, said.
She said that the milestone is a reflection of the hospital’s “exceptional skill and commitment.”
