Patients Talk

Defibrillator Patient Shares Positive Attitude

Matt Noble may be young—he’s in his 30s—but he has dealt with more heart problems than many people ever will. Matt was born with a serious heart condition. By age 17 he had undergone three open-heart surgeries, survived five sudden cardiac arrests, and received an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (also called an ICD or a defibrillator).

Yet Matt has a very positive attitude about living with a heart condition. Since he works for Boston Scientific CRM (formerly Guidant) as a sales representative near his home in Michigan, he has many chances to share his positive attitude with others who have heart conditions.

Since then, I've had three replacement devices. They were all routine replacements, each done when the device’s battery energy level started to get low.

How did your heart condition affect your career choice?

I grew up around doctors and hospitals. So I've been interested in cardiology for as long as I can remember. In college I worked one summer in a hospital, helping patients who had heart devices. I learned more about how devices improved survival for patients. And because I’ve had a defibrillator since my teen-age years, I was even more drawn to a career in that area.

Matt's heart condition led him to a career
working with cardiac device patients.

What changes have you seen in defibrillators over the years?

The changes have been astounding. Compared to today's devices, my first defibrillator was about three times larger, and its battery could last only half as long. My doctor had to do open-chest surgery to place the leads on my heart. Now the doctor just makes a very small incision and inserts the leads into the heart through a blood vessel.

With my first device, I got a shock whenever my heartbeat went above a certain rate. Now there are ways to prevent unnecessary shocks. Today's defibrillators can usually tell the difference between harmless and dangerous arrhythmias.

Today's devices also store a lot more information [data]. Your doctor uses the data to decide how best to program your defibrillator to help you.

What is it like to get a shock from your defibrillator? How many times have you been shocked?

With my type of arrhythmia, I need to get full-energy shocks. So after the instant of pain from the shock, my chest is sore for a few seconds. But it's nothing compared to the pain I've had after CPR, before I had my defibrillator.

I've probably had about 20 shocks. But I still remember my first shock. For the first time, I realized that I actually felt safe after an arrhythmia instead of scared that I might die.

How long did it take you to get used to your defibrillator?

Physically, not long. Within a month I would go days without even thinking about the device. It took me longer to get used to the idea of having arrhythmias. It’s easy to confuse fear about your defibrillator with worry about your underlying heart problem—in my case, arrhythmias.

How did you deal with the fear about living with arrhythmias?

I've thought a lot about how dealing with fear is a choice you make. I can’t let my concerns run my life, or make my decisions for me. If I want to go out and play pool with friends, I do that. If I want to travel out of the country, I do that too. I just remind myself that it’s safe.

It's probably not realistic to think I can completely conquer concerns about my heart condition. Everyone has challenges—and this is mine. [To find out more about how Matt started to overcome his fears, read selected excerpts from Matt's book, One Beat at a Time.]

Is there anything in particular that you want people with defibrillators to know?

When I talk to people about defibrillators, I remind them about the odds of surviving a dangerous arrhythmia with and without the defibrillator. Without a device, only about 5% of people survive an out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest.1 I survived five sudden cardiac arrests before I got my device. I am very lucky to be alive.

But if you have a defibrillator, you have more than a 95% chance of surviving that cardiac arrest.2 The difference is truly amazing. The numbers reassure many people.

What helps you keep such a positive attitude?

My family's support is at the top of the list. In part, I learned how to develop a positive attitude from my dad, and from my high school coach. Faith in God has played a major role, too.

Video

Matt Noble

"One of my favorite things in life is just spending time with my family and my friends."

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(3 minutes)

My family and my faith also helped give me the most important thing: perspective. Life is about dealing with things. Some people don't know where their next meal is coming from, others deal with hurricanes. People like me have heart problems.

It's easy to think, "I've got a bad deal." But you have to look outside yourself to get perspective— the big picture. Health problems aren't really that different from what everyone else deals with.

I've also learned something from seeing my heart rhythm strips [stored in the device before and after a shock]. It's clear from the strips that the defibrillator has saved my life about once every 12-18 months. That one simple fact really helps me keep things in perspective.

Note: Individual symptoms, situations, circumstances, and results may vary. Please consult your physician or qualified healthcare provider regarding your condition and appropriate medical treatment. The information provided is not intended to be used for medical diagnosis or treatment or as a substitute for professional medical advice.

American Heart Association. Cardiac Arrest. Available at: http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4481. Accessed March 23, 2006.
Himmrich E, at al. Is ICD programming for double intraoperative defibrillation threshold energy safe and effective during long-time follow-up? Results of a prospective randomized multicenter study (Low-Energy ENDOTAK Trial – LEFT). Z Kardiol. 1999;88:103-12. [German language edition].

Note: You can get a copy of Matt's book, One Beat at a Time, from any bookstore or by visiting the publisher's website.

Important Safety Information

Learn More

American Heart Association: Sudden Cardiac Death — Describes sudden cardiac arrest and sudden cardiac death. Also outlines the American Heart Association's "chain of survival" in the event that someone has a sudden cardiac arrest.