Success Stories

Kim Motsinger

On November 17, 2006, Kim Motsinger was taking a smoke break in his truck with his wife, Melinda. They were at the University of Virginia Health System waiting for results of a blood test. Turns out, Kim was in the right place at the right time.

Kim had never had any symptoms of a heart issue, and when he started feeling flu-like symptoms like nausea, sweating and dizziness, he thought it was a result of not having eaten for a while. But when he started feeling extreme pain in his chest he knew he needed help right away.

Melinda made Kim walk with her across the parking lot to the Emergency Room and Kim was given an EKG and a medication to thin his blood right away. He remembers the confidence and efficiency of the medical team, and the way they allowed Melinda to stay with him, made the experience much less stressful. Emergency Medicine physician David Burt, MD diagnosed Kim with a STEMI, and notified the cardiology team who promptly put two stents in a completely blocked artery and found two other 50% blockages in his heart. Kim now carries nitroglycerin pills with him, but hasn’t had any further trouble. Because of his 43 minute Recognition to Reperfusion time, Kim’s heart attack damaged only the top layer of his heart and not the underlying muscle.

A truck driver, Kim says his job did not allow for a very healthy lifestyle, having to grab food on the go and sitting for long hours, sleeping little. Since his STEMI, Kim has been eating healthier and exercising more, and he hasn’t picked up a cigarette since that last smoke break. When Dr. Burt told him he’d rather have him stop taking his heart medication than to ever start smoking again, Kim realized the importance of quitting cold turkey. Kim and Melinda used to enjoy going dancing at bars near there McGaheysville, VA home, but he was advised that the second-hand smoke there restrict blood vessels, and could cause a second heart attack on the spot. They are looking forward to the smoke free laws going in to effect across the state so they can start dancing again.

Kim and Melinda have been married 21 years, and have a 27-year-old son, Nathan, who is in the Army and getting ready to leave for his first tour in Iraq. Kim has joined the Virginia Heart Attack Coalition as a patient advocate and shares his survival story through the American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline initiative. He wants others to understand the importance of what these groups do to make sure the proper plan and treatments are in place for people who experience STEMI, so they too can live longer, healthier lives.