PHX Reporter

When Benjamin Lorenzano, a resident of Phoenix, began experiencing chest pains last August, his daughter Stephanie quickly took him to Banner Desert Medical Center in Mesa. There, it was confirmed that he was having a heart attack. Soon after, Lorenzano experienced cardiogenic shock, a severe condition where the heart fails to pump sufficient blood to the body.

Dr. Radha Gopalan, a heart failure and transplant cardiologist at Banner – University Medical Center Phoenix, stated: “Most patients don’t survive a cardiogenic shock.”

After stabilizing him at Banner Desert Medical Center, Lorenzano was transferred to Banner – University Medical Center Phoenix. His heart function was found to be too weak for open-heart surgery. Instead, doctors inserted stents to aid blood flow with hopes of improving his condition.

Despite initial signs of improvement following the stent procedure, Lorenzano suffered another cardiac arrest. As his health worsened rapidly, he was placed on ECMO life support and given an Impella heart pump to assist his heart's recovery. At this critical juncture, doctors informed his family that he might require a heart transplant.

Remarkably, during his three-month hospital stay, Lorenzano's condition improved significantly without needing a transplant. He regained sufficient heart function and has been recovering at home since being discharged last fall.

Stephanie described her father's recovery as miraculous: “It went from him needing a possible heart transplant and his heart working at about 10%-13%, to not needing anything at all.”

Banner Health is one of the largest nonprofit healthcare systems in the United States with 33 hospitals and various other medical services across several states including Arizona and California.