ICU Wedding: Couple Marries Amid Heart Failure Before Life-Saving Surgery

Daniel Phan was days away from lifesaving surgery for heart failure when he and his girlfriend, Julia, made a life-changing decision: they would get married—in the ICU.

From Childhood Friends to ICU Newlyweds

Daniel and Julia Phan’s connection began in childhood. Daniel’s parents hired Julia’s mother to work at their nail salon when the two were kids. “We were the same age. I went to her house when I was, like, eight years old, not knowing she was going to be my future wife,” Daniel told Healthline.

Though they drifted apart for years, they reconnected on Facebook in 2014 after college. Their relationship blossomed in 2023 when they were both in their early 30s. “I reached out because I saw [on Facebook] that she was at a concert and I love concerts, so I asked her if she wanted to go to a concert with me,” Daniel recalled. “And that’s how it started.”

About a year into dating, they discussed marriage—until Daniel’s health took a dramatic turn.

Living with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

Daniel was diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) at age 11. HCM is a genetic heart disease that causes the heart muscle to thicken, making it harder to pump blood. His older sister also has the condition, and their mother carried the genetic mutation responsible.

After his diagnosis, Daniel received a pacemaker. “I was excluded from many activities like sports. It was a very sad, traumatic time,” he said. Music became his outlet—he learned to play guitar and drums—and he navigated high school without major health incidents.

In his early 20s, Daniel experienced a few episodes of overexertion during exercise that led to fainting and emergency room visits. Then, in 2024, he began experiencing arrhythmias even without physical strain.

January 2025: A Life-Threatening Arrhythmia

On January 15, 2025, Daniel was sitting on his couch watching TV when he suffered his worst arrhythmia yet. “It was the worst one. I was super dizzy, threw up everywhere, my heart wouldn’t calm down…so I called 911, and they showed up, and I ended up in the ER for a week in Gainesville Northeast Georgia,” he recounted.

Due to his heart failure, Daniel was transferred to Piedmont Heart in Atlanta, where he initially hoped to receive a heart transplant.

When a Heart Transplant Isn’t an Option: The LVAD Solution

Unfortunately, Daniel was not a candidate for a heart transplant. Instead, he received a Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) to support his heart function. LVADs are recommended for patients with advanced heart failure that no longer responds to medication.

“In this situation, the heart is too weak to adequately pump blood to the entire body, and patients have worsening heart failure. They usually have significant symptoms, such as shortness of breath with activity, fatigue, and tiredness,” explained Sagar Damle, MD, a cardiothoracic surgeon at Piedmont Heart. “When medications are no longer effective, LVADs, and sometimes