Talk show host Darryl Berger has spent enough time in hospitals to write a book about his experiences. First, there was a near-fatal automobile accident as a teenager... serious heart problems in his mid-20s... surgery to remove a parotid tumor in his 40s... and another car accident last May that left him with an abdominal hernia and a bum knee.
“It’s amazing I’ve lived this long,” he says with a chuckle.
Most recently, Darryl made a visit to the Catheterization Lab at Doylestown Hospital to have his pacemaker replaced. The batteries had become weak and electrophysiologist Rob Sangrigoli, MD, suggested Darryl replace it with a newer model. The procedure took about 20 minutes; just a few days later, Darryl was back behind the microphone for his awardwinning Comment, Please talk show.
“The folks at Doylestown Hospital were outstanding,” he says. “They really put me at ease.”
Darryl first realized he needed a pacemaker when he was only 27 years old. He was at work at the radio station when he suddenly blacked out – the result of an unusually slow heartbeat.
Pacemakers help individuals like Darryl by delivering a stimulus to the heart when it misses a beat. Darryl’s first pacemaker only lasted four years before it had to be replaced because of a wiring issue. His second device served him for nearly 15 years, an unusually long amount of time.
Pacemaker batteries typically last an average of 7 to 10 years. “How long the battery lasts depends on what the pacemaker is asked to do,” says Dr. Sangrigoli. “Some people need it to work most of the time and others need it to kick in only when their heart rate slows down to the point they start to feel symptoms.”
Darryl is not pacemaker-dependent, which means the device only comes on when it senses that his heart rhythm is about to be disrupted. With his new pacemaker in place, Darryl and his wife Vicki recently celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary with a trip to the Monterey Peninsula in California.
“When I win the lottery, we’re going to move to the Peninsula and play golf every day,” he says.
