Hunter rescued after heart trouble in the high country

Dr. Anthony Canfield didn’t expect to put his medical training to use while elk hunting in the Flattops Wilderness this year, but that training played a role in the coordinated effort to rescue his friend. After riding into the mountains on horseback with outfitter Trappers Lodge, Canfield and longtime friend “Dave” were enjoying their time camping, fishing and hunting for any signs of elk. After multiple days acclimating to the elevation and taking in the fresh mountain air, Canfield’s friend started feeling ill. “So we were hiking every day, you know, carrying backpacks and carrying our bows. And actually, I think my friend was doing pretty well,” he said.

But the situation changed quickly when on the way back to their campsite, Canfield’s friend experienced a sudden drop in energy levels. “He was short of breath, he couldn’t walk more than about 20 yards without stopping,” said Canfield.

Following a hunch, the surgeon confirmed something was wrong when he found that his friend had an irregular pulse. “When he was sitting at rest, he was doing OK, but any type of exertion just totally wiped him out. So I was convinced he had atrial fibrillation.”

That set off a chain of coordinated efforts to initiate a mountain rescue. Canfield used a satellite phone to contact Trappers Lodge, who had initially set up the hunting trip. Alan Nielson and another guide made their way back up on horseback, in the dark, to bring Canfield’s friend far enough down the mountain that he could be rescued. Canfield said he used the interim time to coordinate a medical pickup down the trail.

“And because we coordinated so well with Trappers Lodge, they had the EMS from Meeker and they also had their air ambulance there,” he said.

“They were able to package them up, get them to Grand Junction and defibrillate his heart so he could have a normal heart rate,” said Canfield. He explained that atrial fibrillation is where the top part of the heart does not contract, “it just quivers,” decreasing its ability to pump blood to as low as 40-50% of normal. “So if you’re chugging along pretty good at altitude, and all of a sudden, you know, it feels like you’re running on three cylinders instead of six or eight. That’s kind of what atrial fibrillation is,” Canfield explained.

He emphasized how the swift response played such an important role in preventing a worse outcome for his friend, as atrial fibrillation can develop into a stroke or cardiac arrest without treatment. “They run a really good program there. They’ve got a lot of good people helping them,” said Canfield, referring to Trappers Lodge, the outfitters for the hunting trip. “They really do a great job of making sure it’s a safe environment,” he said.

Dr. Canfield also credited his “plan B” which in this instance came in the form of a Garmin satellite phone, equipment he recommends for anyone planning recreation in the backcountry. “And those are things that you can rent, they’re not very expensive to get at like REI or any sports store,” said Canfield, adding, “I think you always have to figure out what to do if something bad happens, you know, you get attacked by a bear, stomped by a moose, mountain lion, you trip and fall and break an ankle? What do you do in that situation?”

Dr. Anthony Canfield is considered a top surgeon in the region, specializing in minimally invasive, robot-assisted surgery at Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Medical Center (P/SL) in Denver. He explained in further detail, “For example, the robot is at the bedside, and there’s an assistant at the bedside, but I’m sitting in the room across at a console. So I control the robot with instruments, and then it connects via fiber optic cables, and translate the motion that I do to the instruments that are in the patient.” You can view a video of the robot-assisted surgery on Canfield’s Youtube channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/advsurgery