Ten years ago, Andy Mc Monigle had a heart attack that could have ended his life. But thanks to the quick response of several Mayo residents, and some help from technology (access to an old ECG on an iPad), Andy is here to reflect on that day — and the decade that has followed.

---

"Does anyone have an aspirin?!"

Brothers Christopher DeSimone, M.D., Ph.D., and Daniel DeSimone, M.D., at the time residents in internal medicine, heard the urgency in the request. And they knew what it meant: heart trouble.

They ran toward the voice and discovered Andy Mc Monigle, a Mayo Clinic rehab nurse, sitting on a bench between lockers at the Dan Abraham Healthy Living Center.

Andy was clutching his left arm, clearly in pain. "I could feel every pulse," he says.

"Andy looked like he'd run a marathon," Dr. Daniel DeSimone says. "He was sweating, hunched over. It looked like he was in a movie having a heart attack."

Hollywood couldn't have created a more dramatic scene — or provided better heroes to come to the rescue.

"Andy could have died that day. But the entire team, from EMTs to the Cath Lab, did what they were trained to do."

Daniel DeSimone, M.D.

Huddled around Andy were the Drs. DeSimone as well as Daniel Lueders, M.D., a physical medicine and rehabilitation resident, who had a then-relatively new tool at his disposal: an iPad with access to Mayo Clinic's electronic health record. The device provided immediate access to Andy's medical data, including an electrocardiogram he'd had a year earlier.

When paramedics arrived, a live ECG was connected. The team compared Andy's current reading with the earlier one. The two readings told an important story: Andy had a major change from his prior exam, and given the clinical symptoms, there was concern for another blockage, possibly in the stent he'd had placed four years earlier.

"If you're going to have a situation like that, there's no place to do it like Mayo," Dr. Daniel DeSimone says. "Andy could have died that day. But the entire team, from EMTs to the Cath Lab, did what they were trained to do. Everything went smoothly. It was the Mayo way."

The Drs. DeSimone credit "the Mayo way" for keeping them in Rochester. Both completed internal medicine residency and subspecialty fellowship training at Mayo and have stayed on as consultants. Daniel is an infectious disease specialist and Christopher is a cardiologist specializing in cardiac electrophysiology.

Andy credits "the Mayo way" with something else: 10 full years — some 3,650 days — that he might otherwise have missed.

"I truly try to appreciate every day," says Andy, whose license plate reads "APREC8" as a reminder.

There's been plenty to APREC8 in the past decade. Andy has gotten to watch his sons reach new milestones. There have been graduations, weddings and military deployments. He's been able to teach dozens of classes, sharing his knowledge with nurses and nursing students at Mayo and at conferences throughout the country.

"Andy's helped a lot of people," Dr. Christopher DeSimone says. "If you put good out into the world, it is more likely that good will come back to you."

"I've dedicated 31 years to Mayo because I believe in the organization. I believe Mayo's goal is putting the needs of the patient first."

Andy Mc Monigle

For Andy, much of that good happens through his work on Generose 4E, where he sometimes shares his own story as a way to connect more deeply with patients.

"I've dedicated 31 years to Mayo because I believe in the organization," he says. "I believe Mayo's goal is putting the needs of the patient first."

That's something he knows in his head. And in his heart.

---

HELPFUL LINKS

• Check out Mayo Clinic's Department of Cardiovascular Medicine.
• Explore Mayo Clinic.
• Request an appointment.