PaperTexture - Emilie Hobbs

Emilie Hobbs

Emilie Hobbs

Emilie passed away on February 23, 2018, in Lafayette, Indiana at Franciscan Hospital from complications due to ventricular fibrillation that led to cardiac arrest while on a training run. Unknown to anyone, and displaying no obvious signs, Emilie had two congenital heart conditions: arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia and hypertrophic septal cardiomyopathy. Emilie was 22 years old and just a month shy of her 23rd birthday. She had just completed her undergrad degree in biochemistry from Rose-Hulman and was working toward her PHD in biochemistry at Purdue University. Emilie had been a competitive runner since the age of 11 and was training for a marathon when her VFIB and SCA occurred. A man who was driving by, stopped his car and began administering CPR. No AED was available, but the ambulance arrived within 4 minutes. The paramedics applied the AED immediately, and it delivered a shock, but the pulse was lost. Many attempts by three cardiologists over the next twelve hours were made to regain a pulse and regular heart rhythm, but Emilie never stabilized. In retrospect, Emilie did display subtle symptom such a dizziness, shortness of breath, fatigue, and one episode of syncope while running. Had we known these were the hallmark symptoms of ARVD and not simply anxiety, stress, or dehydration and electrolyte loss as doctors had determined, we would have pushed for more testing. Hindsight is nearly always 20/20, and we would like help to educate and inform others so they can be prepared and proactive.