A Life Saved: Powerful Partnerships & Technology in the Cath Lab

Nieves Soriano, a local father and automobile Service Consultant in Oxnard, went to the gym on August 11 for his standard evening workout. He and his wife had just begun to exercise when Nieves noticed unusual symptoms – heavy arms, trouble catching his breath, and brain fog. The symptoms persisted, so he left immediately for Kaiser Permanente Urgent Care, worried that it could be a stroke or heart attack.

A Partnership that Saves Lives

Upon arriving at Urgent Care, Nieves’ symptoms worsened. It was clear almost immediately that he was experiencing a cardiac event. The Kaiser Permanente (KP) team called an ambulance and sent Nieves to Community Memorial Hospital – Ventura. In Ventura County, the partnership between KP and Community Memorial is critical — individuals with KP health insurance are regularly treated at Community Memorial facilities, especially for emergency, surgical, or labor & delivery care.

Because Nieves arrived at the hospital later in the evening, he was seen by the on-call cardiologist, Robert Sogomonian, MD, an interventional cardiologist with Cardiology Associates Medical Group.

The partnership between Community Memorial and Kaiser allowed for immediate, comprehensive care for Nieves.

Rapid Response & Critical Care

Nieves arrived at the Emergency Room in distress. The Community Memorial cardiology team — Tina Connell, Gregory Delgadillo, Eder Medina, and Telesoma Ene — were ready and waiting. They rushed Nieves to the Cath Lab and had him prepped for treatment in under 30 minutes.

Later, of the care he received from this attentive group, Nieves says, “Every team member was in place, active, and performed with total professionalism.”

Life-Saving Technology

Part of the reason physicians like Dr. Sogomonian practice at Community Memorial Hospital – Ventura is the hospital’s state-of-the-art life-saving technology.

In the Cath Lab, patients are injected with dye into the coronary arteries to visualize blockages, the physician views images of the relevant blood vessels, and the physician works on the affected vessels via catheter. For Nieves, a tiny incision was made at the wrist, the catheter was placed, and Dr. Sogomonian visualized the affected area and performed the procedure using a real-time image and microscopic tools.

To explain this, Dr. Sogomonian likened it to a railroad, “We pass wires through the catheter to deliver balloons, stents, and equipment to the heart. It’s like a railroad, and with imaging we see the blood flow through the artery as we work.”

The speed of Nieves’ care – roughly an hour in total – was critical to his outcome.

He suffered a Widowmaker heart attack, an often-fatal cardiac event. Dr. Sogomonian clarified that it was a STEMI heart attack -- Nieves’ artery was completely occluded, or blocked.

The tools at Community Memorial allowed Dr. Sogomonian to work quickly and effectively.

“I pulled out some of the thrombosis (the clot) with a Penumbra thrombectomy device. Removing the thrombosis mechanically in this case was very important, as it can sometimes move downstream and occlude a different vessel.”

Dr. Sogomonian placed a stent once the thrombosis was clear, and Nieves was stable.

A Caring Team & Happy Outcome

Nieves was in the hospital for a few days to recover, and wanted to share his story primarily because of the care he received.

“I can’t speak more highly of every individual who helped. From the nursing team to the janitor who cleaned up my room, everyone was caring, social, and loving.”

He was particularly touched when Tina and Greg came to check on him in recovery. He was now in a totally different state, and could see and thank them.

Dr. Sogomonian echoed these sentiments of the Cath Lab team, “A lot of credit goes to the nursing crew. The nurses and techs keep the patients calm and are my second eyes during the procedure. It’s a complete assembly line and team process, a very delicate situation where any one thing can’t go wrong.”

Nieves reunited with his care team a few months later at Community Memorial. He has recovered well, and has a new perspective on his life. As a father of three, he’s committed to continuing to monitor his health. Full of smiles and gratitude, Nieves says of his experience at Community Memorial, “I have no words for how I was treated.”