Cardiology

While on his way to meet friends, Eric’s vehicle was hit by a semi-truck. The impact threw him onto the floorboard. Although he did not have any visible wounds, he was transported by ambulance to The Emergency Center at Hillcrest. They discovered he had multiple internal injuries caused by the wreck and a pre-existing 100% blockage in his heart. Fortunately, cardiologists from Oklahoma Heart Institute were just steps away and quickly performed a heart procedure, saving his life.

Jessica had always felt that something just wasn’t right with her heart. Other doctors told her that her rapid heartbeat could be blamed on anxiety or a panic attack. However, the heart rhythm specialists at Oklahoma Heart Institute (OHI) knew better. They correctly diagnosed Jessica’s condition as SVT (supraventricular tachycardia), caused by an extra electrical pathway in the heart. So, when her daughter Bridie began to complain about the same feelings, Jessica knew exactly how to help.

Gene remembers feeling a painful sensation as if someone was grabbing his throat. After his wife called 9-1-1, Gene insisted emergency responders take him to Hillcrest and the cardiologists of Oklahoma Heart Institute (OHI). Gene was rushed into an operating room for open-heart surgery. When he woke, his doctor told him it was a miracle he was alive and asked what he planned to do with his new life. In that moment, Gene realized he wanted to be an inspiration to others and began volunteering several days a week at OHI.

Something that day told Alice she wasn’t just having a bad day on the tennis court. What she didn’t know was that the symptoms she’d been experiencing — dizziness, shortness of breath, numbness in her arm — were all signs of a heart attack. After a six-bypass heart procedure and cardiac rehab at Oklahoma Heart Institute, she’s back in the game of tennis. And life.

Barry’s heart was beating irregularly and abnormally fast. As an orchestra conductor, he felt like his heart was a slow waltz being played in polka time. Thanks to the precision and expertise of Oklahoma Heart Institute, the irregularity is gone. And his heart is in perfect rhythm with life.

Similar heart conditions brought Dustin and Christin together. Their remarkable beginning produced a bond made even stronger by each of them undergoing a heart procedure within the first six months of marriage. And now, thanks to Oklahoma Heart Institute, their future is even brighter.

For Larry, like so many others, a massive heart attack was the first sign he had any heart trouble at all. The event didn’t just change his life, it changed his life’s purpose. Today, he uses his experience to help make a difference in the lives of other cardiac patients and their loved ones.