In October 2024, Korey Meyers, a computer science student at California State University Dominguez Hills, experienced unexpected health issues. The 20-year-old from Chicago, Illinois, began to feel breathless and noticed swelling in his legs and feet. These symptoms led to a diagnosis of heart failure at a Los Angeles hospital.
Meyers returned to Chicago for treatment at Northwestern Medicine Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute. On November 18, he was admitted to Northwestern Memorial Hospital and placed on the transplant list by Dr. Sarah Chuzi, a heart failure and transplant specialist.
A donor heart became available after a few weeks. On December 3, Meyers underwent a successful heart transplant performed by Dr. Duc Pham, a cardiac surgeon at the institute. He recovered quickly and was discharged on December 19.
Dr. Chuzi remarked on Meyers' resilience: “The silver lining to having heart failure and a heart transplant when you’re young is that people tend to be really resilient and have smooth recoveries.” She added, “Korey came into our hospital extremely sick. We’re so lucky we were able to give him this gift of life and it’s especially meaningful that he gets to go home right before Christmas.”
Meyers expressed gratitude for his recovery: “This will be the best Christmas for me,” he said. “I’m looking forward to doing better with my new heart. I’ll make sure I exercise more, eat better, and I’ll cherish this heart for the rest of my life.”
Heart failure affects approximately 6.7 million Americans and contributes significantly to mortality rates in the United States. Northwestern Medicine Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute specializes in treating this condition and is engaged in clinical trials aimed at improving patient outcomes.
For more information about heart treatments offered by Northwestern Medicine Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute, visit nm.org/heart.
