Jeff Hilliard considers it a miracle that he’s around to celebrate Father’s Day this year.
“I am very happy to be alive,” says the 53-year-old Sacramento businessman. Last June he was recovering after cardiac arrest nearly took his life. What he thought was lingering heartburn turned out to be symptoms of an erratic heartbeat. He suffered cardiac arrest three times the morning of March 12, 2006.
He could have missed several family milestones in the past year -- the weddings of his two daughters, the birth of his first grandson and his 30th wedding anniversary celebration with wife Patti.
“Looking back, my chance for survival was zero,” Hilliard states. “It’s been one of the most amazing miracles. I know American Heart Association research over the years led to the procedures that saved my life. The emergency responders knew just what to do.”
Hilliard’s saga began in February 2006 when he experienced heartburn more often than normal. He took papaya enzymes to slow down the pain and even changed his diet, but nothing seemed to help. A month or so later, his heartburn sensation seemed permanent.
So when he ate spicy Mexican food the evening of March 11, 2006, he assumed the pain that built up afterward was just severe heartburn.
He and his future son-in-law had picked up dinner at a Mexican restaurant near home in Rocklin. There was a mix-up in the order and Hilliard was left with two spicy pork tacos rather than his usual favorite, a milder flavored chicken quesadilla.
“I was afraid those tacos would make my heartburn flare up,” he recalls. “But not wanting to drive back to the restaurant, I went ahead and ate them anyway. About half hour later, I had the worst case of heartburn in my life.”
He decided to go to bed and just tough it out. About six hours later at 3:30 a.m., he woke up Patti and asked her to call 9-1-1.
“I knew something was terribly wrong, but really was not sure what was happening,” Hilliard recalls.
Emergency personnel arrived in a few minutes. They recognized symptoms of a heart attack and quickly gave him Nitroglycerin and baby aspirin. The ambulance taking Hilliard to the hospital stopped after just a mile-and-a half. The driver called for more help because Hilliard had suffered a cardiac arrest.
CPR was administered and his heart was shocked back into regular rhythm with a defibrillator. He was experiencing ventricular fibrillation, a condition in which the heart's electrical activity becomes disordered.
When Patti arrived at the hospital, the ambulance transporting her husband wasn’t there yet. Another cardiac arrest had occurred and the ambulance stopped again while CPR and defibrillator were administered a second time.
As he was examined in the emergency room, Hilliard suffered his third cardiac arrest.
He was stabilized and given medication to prevent blood clots. His speech was garbled; thus, he also had a CAT Scan to determine if he’d had a stroke.
An angiogram revealed two blocked arteries in his heart – one at 95 percent blocked and the other at 75 percent. Stents were inserted in those arteries and angioplasty cleared another. He was hospitalized for eight days and soon began cardiac rehab. He was able to return to work in four weeks.
Hilliard’s life-changing experience inspired him to get involved with the American Heart Association. “People don’t realize heart disease is their greatest health threat,” he explains. I want to raise awareness so people can recognize the symptoms and avoid something like I experienced.”
“This Father’s Day is the perfect time to do your family a favor and get your heart checked out. You can save your family a lot of grief. Today could be your last day,” Hilliard says.
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| Jeff accepts the CA Assembly
Resolution for Go Red Day |
Jeff explains that he had visited the doctor two months before his cardiac arrest and an EKG at that time indicated he had no heart problems. “I’ve since leaned there are additional tests that can be given and I encourage everyone to take that extra step,” he says.
Today he serves on the board of directors for the association’s Sacramento Division and often provides audio and video production equipment for its events. He shared his personal story at opening ceremonies for the 2006 Sacramento Heart Walk and provided entertainment and equipment for National Wear Red Day festivities in downtown Sacramento in February.
Hilliard is working on a book about his experience called “Cardiac Arrest Makes You Easier to Live With” and is dedicated to expanding heart disease awareness efforts in Sacramento and beyond.