Texas Health Fort Worth Gives Pianist Second Chance at Life

FORT WORTH, Texas, Dec. 12, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Classical music filled the auditorium as fingers delicately danced across the keys. Hearing the applause, Ken Iisaka collapsed, just seconds and feet from where he finished performing. Thanks to Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth using a new lifesaving protocol, a grateful Iisaka will soon be back at the keys.

"I don't remember the performance at all," said Iisaka, who suffered a sudden cardiac arrest. "I just remember waking up, freezing, in a hospital ICU, and I didn't know why."

Less than 8 percent of people who suffer from cardiac arrest outside the hospital survive. ECPR, or extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation, is an intricate rescue strategy process that helped save Iisaka's life.

ECPR involves constant CPR from paramedics and detailed communication with the emergency department and physicians on the medical staff. Upon arrival, patients are immediately placed on ECMO.

"Mr. Iisaka's journey is a testament to what Texas Health Fort Worth can now provide to patients when they present with a life-threatening cardiovascular event," said Tyler Bloomer, M.D., an interventional cardiologist on the Texas Health Fort Worth medical staff. "It is a team effort that begins outside the hospital. We rely on the skills and knowledge of one another to provide quality care for the most critically ill patients."

After 20 days at Texas Health Fort Worth, Iisaka continues his recovery at home in California, and he's thankful to be alive and still playing the piano.

"Everything just lined up in my favor," Iisaka said. "With a second chance at life, there's more music to be made and more friendships to be formed."

Click here (https://www.texashealth.org/health-and-wellness/heart-and-vascular/heart-health-and-wellness) to learn more.

Texas Health Resources is a faith-based, nonprofit health system that cares for more patients in North Texas than any other provider. With a service area that consists of 16 counties and more than 7 million people, the system is committed to providing quality, coordinated care through its Texas Health Physicians Group and 29 hospital locations. The system has more than 4,100 licensed hospital beds, 6,400 physicians with active staff privileges and more than 26,000 employees.

SOURCE Texas Health Resources