29/01/2026
‼️Tiny heart pump saves elderly man's life in regional first‼️
"His heart blood pressure went and his heart stopped, and the device had to kick in for about five minutes. So, without that, he wouldn't be here now." ❤️
John Barrass, 78, needed an operation to unblock his arteries after a cardiac arrest left his heart’s function critically impaired.
But severe calcification in his arteries and a critically weakened heart meant his odds of survival from a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) were less than 50%.
Now his family are thanking cardiologists at Sheffield's Northern General Hospital after the specialist team decided to use one of 15 new miniature heart pumps gifted by Sheffield Hospitals Charity.
His daughter, Kirsty Lowden, 47, said: "During the operation his heart stopped. The device had to kick in for about five minutes. So, without that, he wouldn't be here now."
The Impella device - which is the size of a 50p coin - sits inside the heart and works by temporarily taking over its blood pumping function.
Dr Aetesam Rahman, who performed the procedure with a team of experts, including Prof Paul Morris, Dr Arvin Krishnamurthy and Dr Jon Rosser, said it was a “really excellent result”.
The pump was able to deliver an additional 3.5 litres of blood a minute – bringing it to near-normal levels during the procedure.
John had four stents fitted to widen his arteries and is recovering well.
Most patients undergoing heart procedures, such as coronary angioplasty or stents will not need one of these devices. However, for patients like John undergoing high-risk procedures, the pumps have been shown to improve outcomes and recovery.
Those are expected to include patients referred from hospitals in Doncaster, Barnsley, Rotherham and Chesterfield who are experiencing cardiogenic shock, or those who are in acute cardiac distress, such as patients awaiting a heart transplant, those with multiple illnesses and those undergoing high-risk cardiac procedures.
Incredible work from our cardiology team ❤️
