Christian Bernadotte isn’t a worrier. Until his heart transplant at Cleveland Clinic two years ago, he wasn’t much of a planner, either.
For years, Bernadotte, now 70, was busy raising a family and building a career. He traveled extensively for work. He didn’t eat properly. He smoked. He never went to a doctor. Eventually, his lifestyle caught up with him; the Shaker Heights resident had his first heart attack at 49.
Bernadotte lost weight and kept up with his medical appointments and heart medications. “I lived with a bad heart for 18 years and made the most of it. I sailed. I golfed but I paced myself,” Bernadotte says, sitting in the Shaker Heights home he shares with his wife, Marianne.
Bernadotte carried on with his busy life, all while living with a weakened heart. He became short of breath and had a tough time walking uphill. On Thanksgiving 2017, Bernadotte collapsed at dinner with friends. Two of them were Cleveland Clinic heart surgeons, Per Wierup and Gosta Pettersson.
A device that had been implanted in his heart jolted Bernadotte back to life. Recovering at the Clinic, he was placed on the Status 2 heart transplant list.
The following February, Bernadotte was at home and started feeling ill. His wife called Dr. Pettersson, who lived nearby. By the time he got there, Bernadotte was on the floor and wasn’t breathing. Dr. Pettersson started CPR and revived him.
The incident bumped Bernadotte up to the highest priority status for a heart transplant. A week later, he had a new heart.
Soon, Bernadotte was back to his active life — this time without having to make accommodations for a weak heart. His plan today includes a much healthier lifestyle. He feels and looks great. His wife, Marianne, also has had to make adjustments. “I have to learn to not live with that fear anymore. This is a new heart and I don’t need to be afraid,” she says.
Dr. Wierup says Bernadotte was “immensely lucky, but you can’t rely on luck. Christian was very sick before his first cardiac arrest and he still ignored all the signs. He was just lucky that when he really started to deteriorate, his buddies were around.”
The mistake patients often make is thinking that a significant or rapid decline in health is a normal part of aging. Pay attention to what your spouse notices, Dr. Wierup says. Often, a spouse sees health changes, especially those that are out of sync with theirs.
With his new heart, Bernadotte has no restrictions on his activities. He’ll be on anti-rejection medication for the rest of his life, and as a precaution, he doesn’t eat raw meat or fish. “You have to live your life. My recommendation is to get your regular checkups in your 40s and 50s, get your cholesterol checked and live a healthy lifestyle.”
February is American Heart Month.
