He Had to Fake a Heart Attack to Get the Care He Needed — Richard Davis’s Journey from Clotting Disorder to Patient Advocate

Richard Davis, founder and CEO of Poseidon Medical Inc., has spent decades in the medical device industry, building multiple companies and developing lifesaving therapies. He’s spent even longer navigating the complexities of a rare genetic disorder that has led to multiple life-threatening blood clots over the years. His story is not just one of survival — it’s a powerful example of the importance of listening to the voice of the patient.

A History of Blood Clots

Over 30 years ago, Davis was diagnosed with bilateral deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and then suffered a pulmonary embolism (PE). He was treated by Dr. James F. Benenati, MD, FSIR, an interventional radiologist who is now the chief medical officer of Penumbra, Inc. After his diagnosis, Davis learned that he had a factor V Leiden mutation, a genetic condition that causes thrombophilia, a tendency for the blood to clot more easily, increasing the risk of conditions such as deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE).”

Advocating for Himself

“Years later, while attending a conference in the Northeast, I began experiencing symptoms I recognized as another PE,” Davis said. He went to the ER, but his condition was not being taken seriously. Desperate for immediate care, Davis faked a heart attack, to gain access to care, which may have saved his life.

“If I was not aware of the seriousness of my condition, I may have died in the ER waiting room,” he said.

After he was admitted, Davis faced additional challenges. The attending physician at the medical center notified him that their standard of care was medical management; anticoagulation and thrombolytics.

Davis knew his body and his history with blood clots. He asked for a mechanical thrombectomy procedure, but the local physician insisted that their treatment for this type of clot was medical management and there is no randomized control trial that demonstrates removing the clot would improve his outcome. “I felt from experience with previous PE’s that removing the clot with thrombectomy would resolve my symptoms faster and provide me with the best chance for a full recovery, but I had to accept the treatment at that hospital,” said Davis.

Davis spent days in the ICU — he was in heart failure, and his condition began to decline. He was unresponsive to the anticoagulation and thrombolytics and his shortness of breath worsened. “My breathing was so bad, I couldn’t speak. I had to communicate by text,” he said. Davis contacted Dr. Benenati, requesting support for mechanical thrombectomy, and he quickly mobilized a network of specialists. Dr. Benenati advocated for a mechanical thrombectomy procedure to be performed by a physician skilled with the procedure at a nearby hospital.

That procedure was successful, and Davis went home the next day.

Providing a Patient Perspective for the STORM-PE Trial

Dr. Benenati later invited Davis to join the steering committee for the STORM-PE Trial, a randomized controlled trial comparing Penumbra’s Computer Assisted Vacuum Thrombectomy (CAVT™) procedure with anticoagulation vs. anticoagulation alone. Davis’s perspective enriched the team’s understanding of the patient journey — from diagnosis to recovery — and contributed to a more patient-centered trial execution. Davis hopes that STORM-PE’s high-quality data will enable more PE patients to access advanced therapies like the one that saved his life.

Davis’s story illustrates how important the patient’s voice is to their own care. “The patient understands the history of their condition — we are the experts of our own bodies, and that matters,” he says.

Important Safety Information

Additional information about Penumbra’s products can be located on Penumbra’s website at https://www.penumbrainc.com/products/peripheral-thrombectomy-cavt/. Caution: Federal (USA) law restricts these devices to sale by or on the order of a physician. Prior to use, please refer to Instructions for Use for complete product indications, contraindications, warnings, precautions, potential adverse events, and detailed instructions for use. Risk information can be found at peninc.info/risk.

The clinical results presented herein are for informational purposes only, and may not be predictive for all patients. Individual results may vary depending on patient-specific attributes and other factors.

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