A Personal Story: When My Heart Stopped in San Francisco

On the morning of April 13, 2026, a surgeon named Cain, stopped my heart at a San Francisco hospital to graft two bypass veins to restore full blood supply to my heart. It's a procedure called CABG (coronary artery bypass graft pronounced like the vegetable), that seems to have become fairly routine in modern times. Dr. Brian Scott Cain was assisted by Dr. Danielle Holland, a cardiovascular anesthesiologist. Prior to the procedure, Dr. Cain told me he had done nearly 4,000 such operations in his 20 years as a cardiovascular surgeon. In terms of risk, he said, there was a 1% chance of death and 2% chance of stroke during surgery. But the upside after successful surgery is a significant improvement in quality of life. 

In a Chair on 4th Day in Hospital, With Chest Scar Clearly Visible

By the time I woke up in an intensive care unit (ICU) a few hours later, I was told it all went smoothly.There were no surprises. Dr. Cain informed me that my heart is in good shape. I was kept in the ICU for less than 24 hours. In these 24 hours, I sat up in a chair and had breakfast, then walked with the assistance of a walker before being transferred to a regular hospital room. 

The reason I ended up getting CABG surgery has to do with the fact that I started experiencing shortness of breath during long walks and strenuous exercise. When I told my cardiologist Dr. Lucas Christianson about it, he ordered a perfusion stress test, also known as nuclear stress test. The results were abnormal, indicating two blocked coronary arteries. 

I received good care from doctors, nurses and other staff in the regular hospital room. They made sure I was cared for and fed well. In addition to daily visits by Dr. Cain and other doctors, there were multiple daily visits by respiratory therapists (RT) and physiotherapists (PT) designed to ensure full restoration of my lung function and ability to walk on my own. Vital signs (temperature, blood pressure and blood oxygen saturation level) checks every 3 hours and regular blood draws meant I could not sleep much. Pretty soon I was asking to be discharged so I could go home and catch up on my sleep. My doctors assured me it was their goal too but they wanted to make sure that the red blood cells and electrolytic balance were restored and my edema (excess water retention) reduced to nearly pre-surgery levels. In addition to visual checks of my feet, I was weighed everyday to ensure I was losing retained water from surgery. 

I was discharged from the hospital on April 19, exactly 6 days after surgery. I was told that this is fairly normal. There was another CABG patient of Indian origin in the room next door. He was there for 10 days and stayed there when I was discharged. Apparently, the surgeon discovered he had deep vein thrombosis (DVT) during surgery that complicated his situation. 

Dr Cain somehow learned that I am a Pakistani-American. He told me he mentioned it to a fellow cardiovascular surgeon named Dr. Ahmad Sheikh who confirmed to him my national origin. I personally do not know Dr. Sheikh but I am acquainted with his family. In fact, my wife and I were invited to attend his sister's wedding in Fremont, California. 

Looking through the hospital window, the one thing that struck me was how many Waymo robotaxis were ferrying passengers through the streets of San Francisco. Waymo is owned by Google. Its cars are made by Jaguar. They are fitted with LIDARs (Light detection and ranging) which constantly scan the vehicle's surroundings to create 3D scanned images of all objects around it. In addition, there are multiple radars and cameras which provide inputs to a computer that operates the vehicle. My wife drove to the hospital but both of my daughters used Waymo robotaxis. They both felt comfortable riding in the back seat of a vehicle with no human driver. 

Related Links:

Haq's Musings

South Asia Investor Review

Over 1000 Pakistani Medical Graduates Match in US Residency Programs

Eleve Days in Karachi, Pakistan

Pakistani-Americans Largest Foreign-Born Muslim Group in Silicon Valley

Babies Born in USA Swaddled in Pakistan-Made Blankets

In Memory of My Loving Mother Rafiqa Khatoon

Silicon Valley Pakistani-Americans

Pakistani-American Leads Silicon Valley's Top Incubator

Silicon Valley Pakistanis Enabling 2nd Machine Revolution

Pakistani-American Surgeon Implants Pig Heart in Human

Pakistani-American Ashar Aziz's Fire-eye Goes Public

Pakistani-American Doctor Honored By President Obama

Pakistani-American's Game-Changing Vision 

Minorities Are Majority in Silicon Valley 

Over A Million Pakistani University Students Enrolled in STEM Fields

Riaz Haq's Youtube Channel

PakAlumni: Pakistani Social Network