For Sara Adair, a mother of two, July 2024 started as an ordinary summer day—but it quickly turned life-threatening.
After spending the day at her children’s sports tournaments and a pool party, she suddenly felt unwell. Then came a crushing chest pain—a symptom she immediately recognized.
Adair knew the danger well. Both her father and sister had survived aortic dissections, a life-threatening condition where the body’s main artery tears. Realizing she might be experiencing the same, she told her husband, “Call 911,” before collapsing.
A Race Against Time
Doctors at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital faced a critical challenge. Adair’s symptoms resembled a heart attack, but treating an aortic dissection requires a vastly different approach.
Luckily, Dr. Shawn Chawla, a cardiology fellow, used a state-of-the-art portable ultrasound connected to an iPhone. Within seconds, he detected the tear in Adair’s aorta—confirming the correct diagnosis and rushing her into emergency open-heart surgery.
A Life-Saving Innovation
Adair survived, though complications—including a stroke—extended her ICU recovery. Now, she monitors her health closely and watches her children for Loeys-Dietz syndrome, the rare inherited disorder linked to her family’s condition.
Despite everything, Adair considers herself incredibly lucky. Without that iPhone ultrasound scan, she might not be here today.
Adair had open-heart surgery and spent several days in the ICU recovering from complications, including a stroke. But still, in all these difficulties, she terms herself a lucky woman, knowing that the ultrasound saved her life.
She is now looking after herself and keeping an eye on her children for the rare condition, Loeys-Dietz syndrome, which is also an inheritable disorder.
