WHeng Tak Yuen, 62, arrived at the emergency department at New York University Langone Hospital in Brooklyn in November 2022, but had to be helped by his son and wife to walk. Just a few days earlier, he had reported to the Triborough Bridge Tunnel Authority as a sergeant. But since then he has become weaker and weaker. In the end, his wife advised him to go to the hospital.
“They were putting needles in me, but I didn’t feel anything,” Yuen said. “People were talking and I could hear them, but mentally I wasn’t really there. I thought I was going to die.”
Yuen presented the difficult case to George Farnine, M.D., chief of cardiology at New York University Langone Hospital in Brooklyn. A CT scan revealed a life-threatening blood clot, known as a pulmonary embolism, in his lung. He also had diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, chronic kidney disease, and heart failure, possibly due to blocked arteries.
“He was seriously ill and had two very serious problems at the same time: acute pulmonary embolism and heart failure,” Dr. Fernine said. The challenge was to devise a strategy to manage heart failure while dissolving blood clots in the lungs while avoiding the risk of heart attack.
Dr. Fernain’s step-by-step plan for Yuen unfolded over several months. Yuen continued to take blood thinners and heart failure medications until February 2023, when the blood clot finally dissolved. Next, I underwent an angiogram. This is a test that uses a special dye and his x-ray images to visualize how smoothly blood is moving through your coronary arteries. As predicted by Dr. Fernaine, multiple arteries are completely blocked and will require coronary artery bypass surgery to open.
Yuen was referred to Elias A. Zias, M.D., a cardiothoracic surgeon and director of NYU Langone’s Coronary Artery Bypass Program, who specializes in complex cases like Yuen’s. He is assisted by a cardiac surgery team that has earned him a three-star rating, the highest possible rating from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons for coronary artery bypass graft surgery. Jias gave the Yuen family a ray of hope.
Because of the superior surgical procedures and high safety standards of our coronary artery bypass program, patients are often able to get up and walk within hours of surgery, reducing recovery time.
“Here at New York University Langone Hospital in Brooklyn, we work with top-ranked cardiac surgeons so that when patients need surgical care, they can travel to Manhattan for surgery and then for follow-up care. We’re making sure they can come back to the community,”’ says Dr. Farnine. “This is what really makes us unique compared to other health systems.”
Yuen’s bypass would reroute five arteries. Additionally, his heart’s pumping ability was significantly reduced, making surgery particularly risky. In fact, it is so dangerous that many patients with Yuen’s disease are not candidates for bypass. “All surgeries have risks, but Taku’s risk with traditional bypass surgery was higher than average,” Dr. Zias says.
Fortunately, Dr. Zias had a plan to ensure success. He specializes in an innovative technique that combines bypass surgery with an implantable heart pump called a temporary transvalvular assist ventricular assist device. “The pump takes over the job of pumping blood around the body, allowing the heart to do the least amount of work as it recovers from surgery,” says Dr. Zias.
On February 28, Yuen underwent bypass surgery, which included sewing a tube graft into his aorta. Next, she put a small pump, about the size of a pencil, through a tube and into her heart. Within a day after the surgery, Yuen was strong enough to walk, thanks to the pump that helped move blood through his heart. This is an important indicator of successful recovery. “Every week of immobility requires a month of rehabilitation,” Dr. Zias says. “Thanks to the heart pump, a person can get up and move around faster, which makes a big difference in overall recovery.”
After 10 days, the pump was removed during a bedside procedure, and no additional anesthesia or surgery was required. On March 10, Yuen returned to his home in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. His recovery continues at NYU Langone Hospital in Brooklyn with cardiac rehabilitation to help improve his heart health and overall health, and he continues to see Dr. Gias and Dr. Farnine for tests. ing. However, all signs point to a bright future.
This summer, Yuen took her daughter to see Taylor Swift. “I admit it. I’m a Swiftie too,” he says. He also traveled to Florida with his wife and son for the holidays. He hopes to return to work this fall. “I can’t wait to get back to work because it means I’m feeling better,” Yuen says. “And being healthy is better than anything money can buy.”
