Life-saving emergency heart surgery by Christian Hobart at the Cleveland Clinic London

At age 66, military veteran Christian Hobart is proud to be fit and active. So a health scare in March 2024 after a routine gym workout was the last thing he expected.

“I was running on the treadmill when I felt sharp pains in my chest and arms,” he says. “I stopped, drank some water and felt better, but when I got on the stationary bike the pain returned so I decided to go home.”

When Christian’s symptoms returned at home, his wife took him to the emergency room.

“They said my troponin level was very elevated, which indicates heart disease, but that I needed to go back to a specialist for an angiogram,” says Christian. “I was put on blood thinners and sent home to wait seven weeks until I could go in for an angiography.”

Frustrated by the lack of answers, Christian’s anxiety grew as uncertainty clouded his understanding of how serious his health setback truly was.

“I had planned to do a battlefield tour of Italy the next day and wasn’t sure if I should go,” he says.

Eventually Christian set off, but was often tired and short of breath. His wife was very worried and prompted him to see Dr. Nicholas Robinson, consultant cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic London. After meeting with Dr. Robinson learned Christian had triple coronary artery disease, a severe form of heart disease in which the three major vessels that supply blood to the heart are significantly narrowed.

“I learned that I was at high risk of a heart attack,” says Christian.

Dr. Robinson immediately contacted Professor Olaf Wendler, consultant cardiac surgeon and chairman of the Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Institute at the Cleveland Clinic London.

“At Cleveland Clinic London, we routinely discuss complex patients at multidisciplinary meetings,” says Prof. Wendler. “We discussed with Christian at a meeting on April 23 and recommended revascularization surgery (bypass) to restore normal blood flow to his heart.”

On April 24, Christian had a virtual appointment with Prof. Wendler, who ordered a pressure wire study to measure the pressure differences in the narrowed arteries around Christian’s heart.

“Christian’s wife told me she had noticed his condition worsening in the last 24 to 48 hours, so I knew we had to speed up his operation,” says Prof. Wendler.

Since Prof. Wendler did not have an immediate availability of a surgical procedure in his schedule, he turned to his colleague, Mr. Ranjit Deshpande, consultant cardiac surgeon, who managed to arrange an operation date for Christian two days later.

On April 26, Mr. Deshpande performed a quadruple bypass using a special cardiac surgical approach with an emphasis on using arteries for grafting instead of veins as they are more durable and can withstand pressure better.

“With bypass surgery, you bypass the blockage by creating a new path,” says Mr. Deshpande. “I created a pathway for blood to flow beyond the block using bilateral internal mammary arteries and an artery in the wrist.”

Mr. Deshpande specializes in off-pump surgery (also known as beating heart surgery), which allows Christian’s heart to continue pumping blood to his body, helping to preserve heart function and reducing his risk of postoperative complications.

“It is very difficult to assemble a team for this type of emergency operation, but Cleveland Clinic London always has a person from each specialty on site,” says Mr Deshpande. “We have a very good standby system so that patients can be treated as quickly as possible if necessary.”

When the goal is to save someone’s life, teamwork is essential.

“Cleveland Clinic London is the only hospital in the area to have a consultant critical care physician on site 24 hours a day,” says Mr Deshpande. “As a surgeon, I may be doing a fantastic job, but post-operative care is also very important to a patient’s healing and recovery, and that’s what you get here.”

Christian agrees.

“From the moment I walked into the hospital, I immediately realized I was in the best possible place for care,” he says. “I felt like everyone went out of their way to give me the best possible care as quickly as possible.”

After five days, Christian was released home. Today he has returned to his everyday life and is grateful for the expert care that resolved his condition just in time. His story is a reminder that even the healthiest lifestyle can’t always predict what’s happening in our bodies.

“People think that because they lead a healthy lifestyle they will never get sick, and unfortunately that is not always the case,” says Prof. Wendler. “In Christian’s case, his illness was hereditary. He must continue to ensure that his risk factors such as cholesterol and blood pressure remain under control.

“If you have a heart attack, not only are you at risk of dying, but part of your heart muscle dies and then you have a higher risk of heart failure,” he adds. “Early diagnosis preserves your heart function and improves your prognosis.”

Related Institutes: Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Institute (Miller Family)