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His father died of heart disease at age 55.
His own first heart attack occurred over two decades ago and he has experienced debilitating heart disease in the succeeding years.
Yet today, at age 78, John Kooyman lives the promise of modern medicine every day. He and his wife of 56 years, Audrey, have many friends in their hometown of Ottumwa, Iowa. He is active in church, Masonic Lodge, and hospital auxiliary.
“I feel good,” says Kooyman, a great-grandfather. “I walk every day, ride a stationary bike, and I try to eat right. It all makes a difference.”
So does the quality of care Kooyman has received from UI Heart and Vascular Center and other UI specialties over the past two decades.
“I can’t say enough about all the great people there,” Kooyman says. “They have the best nurses, ever, and the doctors are wonderful. They’re super people, all of them.”
Kooyman’s troubles began in 1984 with a heart attack that went unrecognized for six months until a new chest pain episode sent him to UI Hospitals and Clinics.
There, he underwent quadruple bypass surgery.
He got along well for 14 years until he required a second quadruple bypass procedure in June 1998. Six months later he developed a stomach ulcer, an unfortunate complication from the many medications he was taking. UI cardiologists found the right mix of drugs to control Kooyman’s heart failure and medically control his stomach ulcer.
In 2003 he became very ill with new symptoms of congestive heart failure. However, a coronary angiography showed that a catheter-based intervention would be extremely risky and he was a poor candidate for a third bypass. Cardiologist Ellen Gordon, MD, recommended medical management, though his treatment was complicated by low blood pressure and his need for prostate medication, which in itself lowers blood pressure.
In consultation with urologists, the prostate medication dosage was adjusted just enough to allow him to begin taking low doses of new drugs for congestive heart failure. “These changes required the help of our nursing staff, since they required phone contact several times a week for several months,” Gordon says.
Faced with worsening shortness of breath, Kooyman received the benefit of another innovative treatment called enhanced external counter pulsation (EECP). The technique increases blood flow to the heart and appears to stimulate new pathways around narrowed arteries, lowering stress on the heart.
EECP is offered in conjunction with the Cardiovascular Health, Assessment, Management, and Prevention Service, which helps patients improve their overall physical fitness and measures their improvement through testing.
Yet another modern heart technology was required after Kooyman was found to have inducible ventricular tachycardia, a lethal arrhythmia, and too slow a heart rate.
Cardiac electrophysiologist Brian Olshansky, MD, implanted a pacemaker/defibrillator device that controls his heart beat and jump-starts his heart should it stop beating. But that step was taken only after he first underwent prostate surgery made necessary by his history of urinary tract infections. The high-risk prostate procedure was successfully completed thanks to the expertise and collaboration of urologists and specialists in cardiac anesthesia.
Kooyman’s heart rhythm problem was resolved with electrophysiology (EP) ablation, using a highly advanced non-contact heart mapping system.
“Mr. Kooyman is living proof that people can lead meaningful lives, even in the face of debilitating heart disease,” Gordon says.
Advanced technologies
John Kooyman’s successful outcome is the result of specialized expertise and advanced technologies, including:
- EP ablation, using a highly advanced non-contact heart mapping system
- Laser transurethral resection of the prostate
- Implantable cardiac pacemaker/defibrillator
- Enhanced external counter pulsation
For more information, patients and families should call UI Health Access and ask for UI Heart and Vascular Center. For consultation or referral, physicians should call UI Consult.
--Michael Sondergard
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