- By Shivangi Sharma
- Wed, 01 Oct 2025 11:19 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
A 64-year-old Virginia man, Jeff Geraci, survived a life-threatening “widow maker” heart attack thanks to a twist of fate and rapid medical care. Geraci, who had just finished a workout class, began feeling unwell and briefly sat in his car, sipping coffee. He decided to drive home but soon lost control of his vehicle, swerving across multiple lanes before hitting a sign and stopping in a parking lot.
By an incredible coincidence, the crash occurred near the office of Dr. Deepak Talreja, chief of cardiology at Sentara Health. Talreja, on the phone with 911 at the time, immediately ran to the scene. “The windshield was shattered, the airbags deployed, and it was hard to see you because you were surrounded by airbags and glass,” Talreja recalled.
Upon assessing Geraci, Talreja realised the severity of the situation. “You weren’t breathing, and you didn’t have a pulse, SCD, sudden cardiac death. That means the heart just isn’t doing the job,” he explained. Quick intervention was critical, as survival in such cases often depends on immediate care.
🙏 Virginia Beach resident Jeff Geraci calls it a miracle.
— Sentara Health (@sentarahealth) October 1, 2025
After going into cardiac arrest while driving, he was saved by Dr. Deepak Talreja and Sentara’s heart team who performed CPR and emergency surgery.
View the full story here: https://t.co/sh8wyW2Yx5 pic.twitter.com/OEdavebbmm
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Critical 'Widow Maker' Blockages
Geraci was rushed to medical attention, where doctors confirmed that his heart attack involved a 95 per cent blockage in the lower anterior descending artery, with a 90 per cent blockage in the upper part, classic indicators of a “widow maker” heart attack, which can be fatal without swift treatment.
Recalling the moment he regained consciousness, Geraci said, “The confusion when I woke up with things in my arm and people running around was like a dream, a muddled dream, and foggy. I asked the nurse what happened, and he said, ‘You had a heart attack. You crashed your car.’”
Geraci expressed gratitude for his outcome, acknowledging the rare combination of circumstance and swift medical care that saved his life. “God was watching out,” he said, highlighting the remarkable chain of events that allowed him to survive such a critical incident.
