Atrium Health brings new lifesaving technology to Pineville campus

PINEVILLE, N.C. — Atrium Health is adding an advanced form of life support to its campus in Pineville, meaning patients won’t have to be transferred to CMC Main.

Cheryl Mastroianni spent 17 years caring for patients at Pineville. She never expected to one day need the kind of lifesaving care this hospital is now expanding.

These days, Cheryl Mastroianni is back to the beautifully ordinary parts of living, like arranging schedules and doing dishes in a house full of life.

“Just seeing my kids’ faces and some of the milestones that they go through and reach,” Mastroianni said.

That’s because there was a time Cheryl didn’t know if she’d get back to moments like these.

“It felt like an intense fire burning in my chest,” Mastroianni said. “I told my husband, Greg, ‘I feel like I’m having a heart attack.’”

She collapsed right here. Minutes later, the caregiver became the patient.

“I think if I had not had ECMO come and started on me, I wouldn’t be sitting here today,” Mastroianni said.

ECMO kept blood and oxygen moving while her heart couldn’t. It bought her time.

“One of the most important things to realize is that ECMO is a bridge to, hopefully, a destination. It doesn’t really treat the underlying problem. It allows us time to sustain blood flow to the vital organs,” Dr. Stephen Rennyson said.

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For Cheryl, that bridge led to a new heart and more than 70 days in the hospital. Then, she had to learn to walk, talk and eat again.

“It just felt like you were so imprisoned in your body in that hospital room. You have no awareness of the outside. I just felt like, ‘Oh my goodness, the world again,’” Mastroianni said.

Now, that world looks like beach trips, and days at Disney and a family still making memories.

“This was a year and a half after my transplant,” Mastroianni said.

“It’s just a blessing to have her here. There are some days that are still hard, but we work through it. We are a team,” Greg Mastroianni said.

When Cheryl needed ECMO, she had to be transferred from Pineville to CMC Main. Now, for the next patient fighting for their life, more of that care can happen right here.

Common heart attack symptoms include: chest pain that may also feel like pressure or squeezing, pain that spreads to your shoulder, arm, back or neck, or a cold sweat, fatigue and shortness of breath.