Methodist Heart Team Gets Newcomb Resident Back Into the ‘Rhythm of Life’

Two days before Christmas, Jerry Sharp of Newcomb, Tennessee, was very sick. He was experiencing cold sweats and his blood pressure was up. Concerned he might be having a heart attack, Sharp went to a nearby hospital, but heart tests performed there didn’t show anything unusual or alarming.

Convinced it had just been a virus, Sharp, 58, went on with his life and felt fine – with the exception of an occasional fluttering sensation in his heart. Because he didn’t have any other symptoms, Sharp didn’t make the connection until he went to see his physician in Jellico for a regularly scheduled appointment.

During the exam, the physician noticed something in Sharp’s heartbeat that was disconcerting. Sharp was placed on a heart monitor for 24 hours, then was sent to Methodist Medical Center, where a heart catheterization revealed a 70 percent blockage, an 80 percent blockage, and a 100 percent blockage in his arteries.

After successful triple bypass surgery at Methodist, he was monitored closely and subsequently diagnosed with ventricular tachycardia, a rapid life-threatening rhythm from the ventricle (one of the bottom chambers of the heart). An automatic cardioverter defibrillator was implanted in Sharp’s chest to detect and correct any abnormalities in his heart’s rhythm.

After two procedures and cardiac rehab, Sharp says he feels blessed to be alive. He and his wife talk about the level of care at Methodist and the people who cared from him – from the heart cath and surgical team to the defibrillation and recovery team. It was an impressive army. “Everybody and everything was just excellent,” Sharp says. “That’s how I felt about it. That’s just how it is.”