KDVR-TV (Denver) | Man receives transplant in Colorado after mistaking a heart attack for food poisoning
What began as what he thought was food poisoning during a work trip to Colorado turned into a life-threatening heart attack for Chris Horn, a businessman visiting from the United Kingdom. Horn had just eaten lunch when he began experiencing vomiting, dizziness and lightheadedness. After spending the night feeling worse, he went to an urgent care clinic and was eventually transferred to UCHealth. Doctors determined Horn was suffering a severe heart attack…Horn underwent 12 operations, including a heart transplant. During his treatment, he was placed on ECMO, a machine that supports heart and lung function when they are unable to work on their own. “It essentially takes over the function of your lungs and or your heart and lungs,” said Jordan Hoffman, a cardiothoracic surgeon with UCHealth. “It provides blood flow to the rest of the body when the heart doesn’t pump adequately to do its job.” Hoffman said some of Horn’s early symptoms — including nausea and dizziness — can be mistaken for effects of high elevation, potentially causing a heart attack to be overlooked. Horn says he spent a long time sedated and on ECMO, and because of that, he says he had to relearn how to speak and walk as part of his recovery. But he credits the machine, and the care he received in Colorado, with saving his life.