Expert Cardiac Care Close to Home Saves Patient with Aortic Dissection

Survival from an acute aortic dissection, a tear within the inner wall of the aorta, depends on speed, coordination and expertise at every step. For Ada Conteperotta, who suffered a sudden, devastating dissection of an aortic aneurysm and had to be resuscitated twice before arriving at the hospital, that chain of care—from quick-thinking co-workers to emergency responders to the St. Francis Heart Center cardiac surgery team at Good Samaritan University Hospital—made all the difference.

“Fifty percent of patients with this condition don’t survive to make it to the hospital,” explained Timothy Carter, MD, director of aortic surgery at Catholic Health and vice chairman of cardiothoracic surgery at the St. Francis Heart Center at Good Samaritan University Hospital. “Mortality increases one percent per hour until the dissection is repaired during surgery. Of those who survive long enough to have surgery, 20 percent will die anyway.”

Ada, a high school guidance counselor, says that day in May 2025 began like any other. At lunchtime, she left the school to deliver a forgotten instrument to one of her twin daughters who attended a nearby high school. When she got back to work, she began to feel ill and asked a colleague to call the school nurse. Moments later, clutching her chest, she collapsed.

Ada knew she had an aortic aneurysm, a condition in which a weakened area of the aorta—the body’s main artery—begins to bulge. In her case, the aneurysm was located close to the aortic valve. A cardiologist in New York City had been monitoring her regularly, but the aneurysm had not yet grown large enough to consider elective surgery to repair it.

On that day, the aneurysm progressed to an aortic dissection. Ada’s quick-thinking colleagues retrieved an automatic external defibrillator, which they used twice to restore her pulse before paramedics arrived.

Her condition was too severe to transport her more than two hours to the New York City hospital where Ada’s cardiologist was located. Instead, she was brought to Good Samaritan University Hospital, where Dr. Carter was able to repair the damaged section of her aorta while preserving her own heart valve through a complex, valve-sparing operation known as the David procedure.

Preserving the valve offers many advantages—most notably eliminating the need for lifelong blood thinners necessitated by mechanical vales—especially for a younger patient like Ada, who is in her 50s. However, its success depends heavily on the surgeon’s experience.

“Our ability to use this valve-sparing approach is unique to the Long Island region,” said Dr. Carter. “In this clinical scenario, the David procedure is more technically demanding, but we are able to offer it to patients because of our high volume of cases and expertise.”

Good Samaritan is the hub of Catholic Health’s aortic aneurysm imaging and surveillance services, offering convenience and accessibility to Long Islanders, with services also available at Catholic Health’s Mercy Hospital and Ambulatory Care centers in Centereach and East Hills. 

“I can’t say enough about how amazing Dr. Carter and his team are,” said Ada, who was back to work in the fall. “I feel very lucky being able to come back after flatlining twice and then being in their care. I never realized how good Good Sam was.” 

“Ada’s case dramatically highlights the value of having a program like ours here on Long Island,” said Dr. Carter. “People may choose to be followed by centers in New York City, but with a condition where mortality risk increases with each hour, it’s important to have care options close to home.”