It isn’t every day that a newborn’s heart reaches 320 beats per minute, requiring the life-saving collaboration of two hospitals’ staff, and leading to a 155-mile helicopter ride from Duluth to Minneapolis. But that was how Baby Bennett spent some of his earliest days.
His birth story was thankfully more uneventful. First time parents Brookelyn and David welcomed a healthy and happy baby boy, weighing 7 pounds, 12 ounces. They described Bennett as an easy baby and a food monster. But at two weeks old, things changed when he started having trouble taking bottles and his diapers were dry.
Bennett’s condition worsens
On Thanksgiving Day 2023, Bennett suddenly began to gag and choke on his milk. Brookelyn and David rushed their son to their local hospital in Deer River. There, staff noticed an alarmingly high heart rate, so much so that they thought the monitors were broken.
With things worsening, Bennett was transported to Essentia Health–St. Mary’s Medical Center in Duluth for more specialized care. As the ambulance rushed towards Duluth, Bennett’s heart rate kept climbing, reaching an astounding 280 beats per minute.
Bennett’s heart rate continued to climb, reaching 320 beats per minute at its peak. Steven Haasken, MD, pediatric intensivist at Essentia Health – St. Mary’s Children’s Hospital, diagnosed him with supraventricular tachycardia (SVT), a type of arrhythmia that causes the heart to beat very quickly. Normally, the heart’s electrical signals follow set paths from the atria to its ventricles. In people with SVT, the signals can sometimes “short circuit” and make the heart beat faster.
“Bennett had the worst heart function I’ve ever seen,” said Dr. Haasken. Bennett was experiencing severe heart failure. Dr. Haasken and the clinical team quickly recognized they needed to consult with the cardiology and neonatology kid experts at Children’s Minnesota.
“Our neonatal transport team has been transporting critically ill newborns for more than 34 years. We know that every second counts and collaboration with the local care team is paramount to ensuring babies survive,” said Thomas George, MD, system medical director of neonatology at Children’s Minnesota. Bennett had little time to spare. He was turning gray.
Bennett’s neonatal transport via helicopter
The parents rushed to drive the 155-mile trek from Duluth to Children’s Minnesota’s hospital in Minneapolis so they could be there when Bennett arrived. When they were just 10 minutes away from the hospital, they received a call from Dr. Haasken that Bennett had gotten worse and wasn’t even on the helicopter yet.
The St. Mary’s pediatric intensive care team and Children’s Minnesota neonatal transport team, led by neonatal nurse practitioner Kelli Guth and partnering with transport respiratory therapist Melissa Girnau, were working hard to stabilize him for the journey. They found success when Dr. Haasken was able to place a large intravenous (IV) line that delivered medications to lower his heart rate enough to transport him to Children’s Minnesota.
“As Bennett’s health continued to decline, it was teamwork between myself and the neonatologist and pediatric cardiologist at Children’s Minnesota that allowed him to survive,” said Dr. Haasken. “We all had different skills that we brought to the table. Everyone did their part and focused on Bennett’s wellbeing. It was through our collaboration that he was stabilized for transfer and able to recover.”
At Children’s Minnesota, Brookelyn and David met Dr. George who briefed them on what was happening with Bennett. Once Bennett made it to the Level IV NICU at the Children’s Minnesota hospital in Minneapolis, the neonatal and cardiology teams were ready for him.
Brookelyn recalls many clinical experts working together to make sure Bennett would be OK. The family was introduced to Bryan Jepson, MD, a pediatric cardiologist at Children’s Minnesota, who was a member of Bennett’s care team.
“Dr. Jepson told us he was likely in SVT for at least 48 hours,” Brookelyn said. “He told us that if we had not brought Bennett in that day, he likely wouldn’t have made it through the night.” Bennett had signs of significant injury to his other organs due to his arrhythmia and would need a lot of support in the NICU through the night.
A rare diagnosis
Bennett was diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) syndrome, a heart condition where patients have episodes of rapid heart rate due to a genetic defect. WPW is a relatively rare condition seen in just 0.1-0.2% of the population. It can be diagnosed at any age, from prenatal into adulthood. It is the most common cause of SVT in children before birth and in the newborn period.
People with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome have an extra electrical pathway in the heart that can cause the heart to beat faster than it normally does. Most of the time, the heart beats about 60-100 times per minute. During tachycardia, the heart beats about 150-250 times per minute.
With WPW syndrome, the frequency and severity of episodes varies from person to person. Some have very few episodes. Others have one or two each week. During an episode, a person can have palpitations, chest pain, dizziness, shortness of breath and faint.
Bennett was prescribed a beta blocker to be taken every 6-8 hours to keep his heart rate normal and lower the chances of having frequent or long episodes of SVT. The family was also given a stethoscope to check Bennett’s heart rate daily.
Bennett today
“He’s healthy, happy and content,” said Brookelyn. “For the most part, he’s a normal child. He just takes extra medication. He’s our miracle baby. I am truly grateful for both St. Mary’s in Duluth and Children’s (Minnesota) for saving our little boy’s life.”
Around the time Bennett enters kindergarten, doctors expect he’ll be able to undergo a radiofrequency ablation with the cardiac electrophysiology team at Children’s Minnesota to fix his condition. This is a procedure where a catheter is guided through a vein or artery in the leg to the heart. When the problem area of the heart is pinpointed, the catheter tip uses hot energy to destroy the tissues causing arrythmia.
Bennett continues to receive ongoing care at St. Mary’s in Duluth, with regular cardiology appointments to ensure he continues to thrive.
