It was the Christmas present that Mark Fulton didn’t order and wasn’t expecting, but it saw him spend the festive season in St Vincent’s Private Hospital Northside and, ultimately, it was a ‘gift’ that saved his life!
In December 2023, Mark, who ran his own very successful business, was experiencing pain in his back and subsequently, while on a business trip to Perth, he felt pain between his shoulder blades.
He was referred to St Vincent’s Private Hospital Northside cardiologist and cardio-oncologist Dr Mohsen Habibian.
“When I first saw Mark, I was quite concerned as the cardiac MRI suggested that the myocardium was already non-viable and the large blood clot in the left ventricle meant that he was at a high risk of having a massive stroke,” says Dr Habibian.
“His ejection fraction — a measurement of how much blood the heart’s left ventricle pumps out with each contraction — was critically low at 10% (the normal range is 50% to 70%), which meant he had advanced heart failure. This put him at risk of life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias.”
Mark spent several weeks in St Vincent’s Private Hospital Northside where Dr Habibian treated him with a range of medications, including clot-busting drugs to resolve the large thrombus.
Dr Mohsen Habibian, Cardiologist and Cardio-oncologist at St Vincent’s Private Hospital Northside
“I wore that for two months and it probably took six months before I started to feel well again and could resume walking around the golf course over 18 holes.”
Mark’s condition continued to improve under Dr Habibian’s care. However, the damage to the left ventricle meant he required open heart bypass surgery, which he underwent at St Vincent’s in January this year. After a few days in ICU and several more in the cardiac recovery ward, Mark was back home contemplating the lessons of the past two years and how he wanted to live the rest of his life.
“In hindsight, I should have listened to those warning signs right from Day One – although, like a lot of men, we can think we’re almost invincible. And for me, the fact that I had been active all my life and played sports like field hockey, swimming and golf meant that I thought it wouldn’t happen to me,” says Mark.
“While Mark faced many challenges, we managed to achieve a positive outcome for him with contemporary medical treatments. We were able to think outside the box and, rather than committing to an implantable cardioverter defibrillator, we opted to use the wearable LifeVest, which helped manage his condition during a critical phase,” says Dr Habibian.
“We are fortunate to have a wide array of clinical options for cardiac patients these days and, while we always prefer to proactively diagnose potential problems or intervene early, people should never give up hope. Cardiologists now have many treatments at their disposal to help restore quality of life following a cardiac event.”
St Vincent’s Private Hospitals offer comprehensive, advanced cardiac care delivered by teams dedicated to providing a personalised patient experience. Cardiology services at St Vincent’s Private Hospitals are widely recognised as leading the field in advanced cardiac care, combining surgical innovation with extensive knowledge and expertise.
