Blog

Oklahoma Heart Institute Leadership Series – Interview with Nurse Manager Whitney Conley

Oklahoma Heart Institute nurse manager Whitney Conley, BSN, RN, speaks humbly of her 21 years in nursing. Driven by always doing what is best for patients, Whitney has grown in her career on that singular focus, earning her team national recognition for excellence in patient care. “This is my mission,” she explains of her first job in health care that developed into her passion and career. “I see nursing as my meaning in life.”

It all began when Whitney graduated high school. “I needed a job,” she admits directly. “I worked at a nursing home after graduating high school and was... Read More »

Do You Suffer From a Sleep Disorder?

According to the National Heart, Blood, and Lung Institute (NHLBI), approximately one in six, or 40 million Americans, suffer from a sleep disorder. 

Symptoms of certain sleep disorders can include:  

·      Persistent loud snoring

·      Trouble falling asleep

·      Daytime sleepiness

·      Hypertension

·      Restless sleep 

·      Gasping for breath during sleep

Mary Willson, patient access representative for Oklahoma Heart Institute (OHI) Sleep Care, didn’t have a sleep test done for herself until her endocrinologist encouraged... Read More »

Did you know diabetes can affect your feet?

Nerve and circulatory damage from high blood sugars and high blood pressure, known as peripheral neuropathy, can affect the feet or hands. This can make feet less able to feel pain, heat or cold or make them more sensitive to pain or touch. Dry or cracking skin and open wounds can become more common and heal less quickly, increasing the risk of becoming infected. If an infection develops and is not treated, removal (amputation) may be required. In fact, diabetes is the leading cause of non-traumatic lower-limb amputation in our country.

For those living with diabetes, daily foot... Read More »

How You Can Defeat Diabetes

You’ve probably heard that diabetes is a trending epidemic with about one out of every 11 people in the United States diagnosed with diabetes. But let’s focus on our own state - Did you know that nearly one in every four seniors in Oklahoma has been diagnosed with diabetes? This ranks Oklahoma ninth for percentage of adults with diabetes in the nation.

Two very big contributing factors to diabetes are obesity and inactivity. Oklahoma ranks sixth in the U.S. for the percentage of adults who are obese and ranks eighth for the percentage of adults that lack physical activity. These are... Read More »

Sleep Quality: How to Improve It

For many people getting a good night of sleep is seen more as leisure than a necessity. Sleep is essential to living a healthy lifestyle. The health benefits of sleep extend far beyond good heart health.  It is one of the best ways to naturally enhance physical health, brain function, and emotional well-being. Because our bodies depend on sleep to ensure overall wellness, a lack of sleep can create health challenges that affect one’s daily performance and quality of life. 

“Adults should be getting seven to nine hours of sleep each night,” says Michael Newnam, MD, Director of Sleep... Read More »

Oklahoma Pastor Thankful for Heart Hospital Staff

“It was a Sunday morning, and I was preparing for service when I started to feel very sick all of the sudden,” Larry Delay recalls of a morning in early March 2015. “I am a pastor and when I started feeling very sick at church, my wife told my daughter-in-law, who is an LPN, to take me to the hospital.” Larry was taken to the closest hospital in South Tulsa where physicians ran several tests on Larry. “They decided to keep me overnight, and the next morning they had me take a nuclear treadmill test. I struggled a little but thought I had done fine but was later told I had failed the test... Read More »

Weight Loss Program Helps Hillcrest Employee Reduce Stroke Risk While Helping Others

As an occupational therapy assistant at Hillcrest Medical Center and a member of the Oklahoma Stroke & Neurological Institute stroke team, Brook Hinton started taking a closer look at her own health in 2014. “I was seeing patients come in younger and younger with strokes,” she says. “I realized that I had some of the risk factors for stroke, such as a high BMI, before the age of 30.” Brook had never tried to diet. When a friend mentioned that she had started a new program at the Weight Loss and Wellness Center at Oklahoma Heart Institute, Brook decided it was time to try something new... Read More »

Oklahoma Man Feels Blessed After Surviving Two Heart Attacks

“I just thought it was heartburn.” Michael Mace recalls the scene four days after his 50th birthday, while he ate a sandwich at Subway: “I was with my fiancé, Patricia, and we were traveling from Stroud to Claremore and had stopped to eat a late lunch when I started feeling sick.” Michael had been fighting similar symptoms for years so he thought the feeling would eventually subside and continued to run errands with Patricia.

“We stopped at Reasor’s, and while Patricia was shopping inside, I started getting really bad chest pains. As soon as she came out, I told her we needed to go... Read More »

"Most Fulfilling Experience" as a Second-Career Nurse

When James Wilson, RN, arrived in Tulsa, he had worked out the logistics of a cross-country move, job transfer to the Oklahoma Wonder Bread division and began a new role as caregiver. The route salesman of seven years had a new territory to learn and new drivers to train. He also had the added responsibility, as one of an increasing number of adult children in the U.S. experiencing role reversal, of caring for his aging parents and managing their health needs. Then the unexpected happened. “Here I am at 48-years-old and out of a job,” he says of Wonder Bread’s sudden closing. “What am I... Read More »

New Research Proves Transcaval TAVR to Be Safe & Effective

New research on transcaval TAVR was presented today which demonstrated a new approach to performing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) to be safe and effective for patients who may otherwise have very limited options. Oklahoma Heart Institute (OHI) was one of three top medical centers in the U.S. who enrolled patients in the study.

“We continue to strive to bring the latest techniques and cutting edge technologies in cardiovascular care to our patients at OHI so that they receive the best and most comprehensive care.” says Dr. Kamran Muhammad, an Oklahoma Heart Institute... Read More »