In December 2021, Evanston resident Jeffrey Doman, 71, was playing basketball with friends when he suddenly collapsed due to a cardiac episode.
“Thankfully, a couple of the guys I was playing with knew how to do CPR,” said Doman, an athlete with decades of experience playing basketball, tennis and golf.
Doman was taken to Endeavor Health Evanston Hospital, where Jason Robin, MD, a cardiologist with Endeavor Health Medical Group, happened to look at his echocardiogram. What happened next saved Doman’s life.
Doman had cardiac amyloidosis, a condition that — if not caught and treated immediately — is fatal.
“Amyloidosis is a disease where antibody fragments called light chains are deposited in an organ of the body and cause organ dysfunction,” explained Dr. Robin, who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of amyloidosis. “The most concerning place for light chain deposits is the heart.”
When these light chains come together, they form amyloid deposits that cause the heart to become thicker and stiffer. This can cause irregular heartbeats or, more seriously, sudden cardiac arrest.
“It was fortunate that I happened to be on call at Evanston that weekend,” said Dr. Robin. “He had very, very subtle findings on his echocardiogram. Cardiac amyloid is a medical emergency and requires immediate diagnosis so that the patient can get immediate treatment.”
Doman was kept in the hospital overnight for a cardiac biopsy.
“With amyloidosis, the plasma cells that make the antibodies are diseased, which causes the production of excessive amounts of light chains,” explained Dr. Robin. “This is similar to cancer, which is why amyloidosis is treated via chemotherapy by an oncologist.”
Within a week, the test had confirmed that Doman did indeed have amyloidosis. “His diagnosis was a great collaboration between myself, interventional cardiologist Justin Levisay, MD, and oncologist Lynne Kaminer, MD,” said Dr. Robin.
He was scheduled to see Amy Wang, MD, another amyloidosis expert at Endeavor Health. Doman immediately began chemotherapy and immune modulatory therapy, which is a treatment that helps modify the immune system to help destroy abnormal cells.
Doman’s chemotherapy treatments lasted for two years — but they never slowed him down. “I would often go from chemotherapy treatments directly to play golf, tennis and basketball,” Doman said.
According to Dr. Robin, Doman’s remarkable recovery was thanks to his being diagnosed at such an early stage.
“He had an incredible response,” said Dr. Robin. “The light chains became undetectable in his blood and his biomarkers came down to normal.”
“I owe everything to the doctors at Endeavor Health,” said Doman. “My treatment worked wonders for me because I'm basically in full remission and I live a regular, active, healthy life.”
Since his diagnosis, Doman has celebrated his 50th wedding anniversary, joined a concert band’s percussion section, returned to playing baseball, played in national senior basketball tournaments and fulfilled a lifelong dream by playing on famed golf course Pebble Beach.
“I consider myself lucky to be one of the many patients that Endeavor Health has helped through the years,” said Doman. “I'm just glad that my story is one of them.”
