Local man, 44, survives ‘massive heart attack’

David and Heather Worsham are devoted to their faith, family and community. Married for nearly two decades, they have built a life around spending time with their daughters, being active in the church, and camping in the desert. When not with family, Heather is an office coordinator for a mobile home community, while David works as a machinist in the aerospace industry.

In Spring 2025, however, their lives changed dramatically when David suddenly became gravely ill. “Heather and I had just finished a meeting at our daughter’s school,” says David. “My last memory was leaving the school parking lot.”

Later that day, when Heather returned home from work, David mentioned that he was experiencing pain in the middle of his back. “I noticed he was agitated and gave him a heating pad, thinking it was pulled muscle,” Heather says.

David’s complaints and agitation were out of character. But Heather feared the worst when he also began slurring his words. She quickly helped David into the car and began to drive him to urgent care.

“As I was driving, I noticed he became quieter, and his breathing was strange,” recalls Heather. “He looked at me from the passenger’s seat. Then, suddenly, his eyes closed, and his body arched and collapsed.”

David was having a heart attack. Frantic, Heather pulled into a bike lane on the side of the road and called 911. While waiting for the ambulance, a bystander came to their aid.

They managed to pull David from the car and lay him on the ground. He was pale, cold and his lips had turned blue. With guidance from the 911 operator, Heather started CPR, and a bystander soon assisted her.

The ambulance arrived and took David to the Emergency Room at Sharp Grossmont Hospital.

A damaged heart — and a lifesaving response

Doctors assessed David and discovered that he had advanced heart disease. Despite being a fit 44-year-old man, David has a family history of cardiovascular issues — his father had passed away from heart failure at just 52.

While in the hospital, tests revealed that David had 100% blockage of his lower left heart ventricle, leaving just 20% of his heart functioning normally.

"David came in critically ill,” says Dr. Alexandra Kharazi, a cardiothoracic surgeon at the Sharp Grossmont Hospital Burr Heart and Vascular Center. “He had suffered a massive heart attack and was in shock.”

According to Dr. Kharazi, David’s heart wasn’t pumping effectively, and multiple organ systems were starting to shut down. It was a life-threatening situation, but early recognition and fast coordination allowed the cardiac team to act quickly.

“To better understand David’s condition, we placed a special heart catheter to measure his heart and lung pressures,” adds Dr. Mohammed Al-Janabi, a hospitalist and pulmonologist with Sharp Community Medical Group and affiliated with Sharp Grossmont Hospital. “This confirmed he had severe heart failure.”

David was rushed into the operating room, where surgeons placed an Impella device in his heart. The miniature heart pump supports the workload of a damaged heart by maintaining blood flow throughout the body.

With the device performing some of the heart’s work, David’s heart could rest and recover while ensuring his body got the necessary blood and oxygen needed to keep his other organs healthy.

Moving forward — gradually

It took a few months before David began to feel better, including regaining mobility with the temporary help of a walker, sleeping through the night, and experiencing less pain.

David has since completed rehab and is happy with how far he has come since the cardiac arrest. “Rehab has been great, and I feel a lot healthier,” he says. “My stamina has improved a lot because of the hard work the staff puts in with me.”

“We are grateful for everyone — from the nurses who are the boots on the ground, knowing what was going on, to the doctors who helped save his life — everyone communicated with one another, and the care was seamless,” says Heather. “None of us could have expected any of this. But we all came together as a family through this journey.”

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