Montefiore MedCenter

Kathy O'Donnell, 44, is an athlete and passionate about living a healthy lifestyle. But in May 2011, she collapsed during a workout and went into cardiac arrest. Clinically dead for 15 minutes, Kathy was revived by CPR and brought to Montefiore.

Kathy was in a coma for a week.

Kathy's official diagnosis—severe mitral valve disease as a result of a congenital heart murmur—meant the valve between her left heart chambers didn't work properly, causing blood to leak backward into her heart. She had no previous symptoms.

Instead of placing her on a heart transplant list, Dr. Robert Michler at the Montefiore Einstein Center for Heart and Vascular Care performed mitral valve repair using a unique and complex surgical approach called the "butterfly technique". Dr. Michler is one of a few elite surgeons in the nation trained to perform this remarkable surgery. The procedure was a success.

Today, Kathy has made a full recovery and is back to the life she loves. She is exercising and working as a personal trainer again.

Montefiore, a premier academic medical center, received the three-star designation from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons for the last three consecutive years. We are recognized not just among New York's top hospitals, but also as one of America's best. Our passionate, top-ranked doctors deliver positive outcomes that exceed national averages and achieve new heights in healing for patients like Kathy, every single day.

Learn more at: www.inspiredmedicine.org

Montefiore Medical Center: www.montefiore.org