The doctor resuscitates his hockey buddy after a cardiac arrest during the game

A condition that is usually deadly in a matter of minutes

Kowalewski was admitted to UM Health, Michigan Medicine, and was diagnosed with a critical narrowing of the main artery in the anterior artery of the heart – the left anterior descending or LAD – the most dangerous blockage.

It was an unlikely scenario given Kowalewski’s age, active, healthy lifestyle and no heart problems.

But stories like that are not uncommon. Sudden cardiac arrest, the sudden and unexpected loss of heart function in a person with or without heart disease is a major cause of death worldwide. It affects an estimated 300,000 to 450,000 people in the United States each year and may affect children and adults of all ages.

If the right steps are not taken right away, it is often fatal in a few minutes.

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and AEDs are important tools for saving lives during such heart emergencies, which is why Michigan Medicine has partnered with organizations such as Projects ADAM. Named after a 17-year-old who crashed and died of a sudden cardiac arrest while playing basketball in 1999, the organization is helping schools and communities prepare for such events by promoting emergency planning, resuscitation training and access to the AED.

Brett Wanamaker, MD, interventional cardiologist at UM Health Frankel Heart Center who took care of Kowalewski, recalls his own hockey coach suffering from cardiac arrest on ice during a pick-up game while Wanamaker was a teenager.

“Unfortunately, there was no AED in the arena and it couldn’t be revived,” Wanamaker said. “The wider availability of AEDs has a big impact on people experiencing a sudden cardiac arrest. Seeing how this affected Greg and the role in his incredible story has been really relevant to me.

And Kowalewski wants his story to help efforts that can help save other lives.

“This has been really eye-opening. Before it happens to you, you might not think about things like resuscitation and the AED. They could save someone’s life. In another situation, I might not have had a chance to fight.”

Looking back, there were also signs that something was wrong, he said. He had had shortness of breath during the last three hockey matches, but he just thought it was his asthma that encouraged others to ignore the symptoms and “always listen to his body.”