Heart health: LifeVest saves man's life

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) -  A Boone County man will be celebrating the holidays with his family thanks to a vest that he was wearing.

And it's not just any old vest. It contained an external defibrillator: it monitored his heart, and shocked it, when his heartbeat went bad.

William Sears doesn't remember it, but he was wearing the LifeVest when it detected his heart started beating erratically.

"I walked upstairs to go to bed, set down on the edge of the bed to take my clothes off, and I passed out."

Sears has heart disease, and hasn't been a candidate for the more common implantable defibrillator.  Dr. Richard Fogel used the next best thing. "It's a hybrid, between the paddles you've seen used on TV and in movies, and something that's totally implanted."

The vest also recorded the whole event, so Dr. Fogel had proof it worked. From the EKG, he knew exactly what happened.

Sears admitted he didn't like wearing the device. It's worn under clothing and around the waist or from a shoulder strap. But the minor discomfort paid off.

"I hated wearing the thing, carrying the monitor around, but I'm sure glad now that I had it."