It’s a breadbox-sized machine, but it makes a tremendous difference for patients at M Health Fairview University of Minnesota Medical Center. Now the center is expanding what is known as the ECMO program for heart attack patients.

St. Kristin and Clayton Howatt of St. Paul had never heard of an ECMO machine until it saved Clayton’s life after he suffered a heart attack in June.

“It’s a cliché, but when you go through something like this, you’re thankful every day to have a normal life,” Clayton said.

“It was the machine that brought it back to me,” Kristin said.

ECMO machines are pumps that can temporarily restore heart and lung function during cardiac arrest, and are one of the most effective ways to maintain blood flow throughout the body when time is of the essence.

The University of Minnesota Medical Center was one of the first organizations to begin using this technology regularly when it launched its ECMO program in 2015, and it continues to expand now.

Dr. from the University of Minnesota Medical Center. “This is the next step to save more lives,” Jason Bartos said.

As for Clayton Howatt, he spent four days on an ECMO machine and a week recovering in the hospital. His goal was to eventually return to the ice as his daughter’s hockey coach; In August, he finally succeeded.

“It’s just a miracle. The recovery was miraculous. “This is not 100%, but I’m close to it,” he said.

According to M Health Fairview University of Minnesota Medical Center, the ECMO program has helped increase survival rates in the event of cardiac arrest from 12% to 35%.