Detroit Man Motors on After Protected PCI Procedure

In 2008, Howard Pikstein made an appointment at Genesis Hospital to address his sleeping problems. After several tests and an angiogram, physicians determined that Howard had heart failure. In fact, the physicians said his heart was so weak that he would likely need a heart transplant. Howard’s sister, director of Cancer Services at William Beaumont Hospital in Detroit, served as his primary advocate and had heard about a randomized clinical trial called PROTECT II, which was enrolling patients undergoing high-risk percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) procedures. Howard transferred his records to William Beaumont, enrolled into PROTECT II, and was randomly selected to receive the Impella 2.5®. His interventional cardiologist, Dr. Simon Dixon, performed a high-risk PCI procedure and was able to place stents to open Howard’s 90% blocked left main artery. A few days later, Howard was discharged from the hospital feeling a near immediate improvement. He returned to work at Ford Motors in Detroit shortly thereafter and is still feeling well today.