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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 »

Seminar on Atrial Fibrillation to Ablation Surgery: Charlotte’s Journey

When Charlotte Wells went to see her primary care doctor for heart-related issues, she thought she had a heart arrhythmia. But when Charlotte continued to get worse, she knew something wasn’t right. Her doctor then requested she come in for an EKG the next time her heart monitor went off. Once her doctor performed an EKG and gave Charlotte the results, she explained to her that she had sent them to Oklahoma Heart Institute cardiologist, Dr. David Sandler, because Charlotte didn’t have arrhythmia -  she had atrial fibrillation. 

No one in Charlotte’s family had ever had heart... Read More »

How Catheter Ablation Helped Tulsa Woman With Atrial Fibrillation   

Coneil Lafarlette has remained active and healthy throughout her life, so she was surprised when she suddenly felt like she had the flu with aches all over her body and trouble breathing. After these symptoms persisted for almost a week, she tried to take her pulse but couldn’t find it. She then asked her daughter to take her blood pressure, but her daughter was unable to as well.  She then called her doctor, Utica Park Clinic physician, Dr. Donald Cooper, and he told her to come immediately to the office to be examined. After performing an EKG, Dr. Cooper realized Coneil had atrial... Read More »

TAVR Available for Patients with Intermediate Risk 

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved the TAVR (Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement) procedure for intermediate risk patients. This minimally invasive, life-saving procedure can now be performed on patients with aortic stenosis who are considered intermediate risk for traditional heart surgery. This is very exciting news for our team at Oklahoma Heart Institute considering the fact that this procedure was originally approved for high-risk patients only. Watch our video below to learn more from our structural heart and TAVR team as to why this recent approval is so... Read More »

New Watchman Implant Reduces the Risk of Stroke for Atrial Fibrillation Patients

Atrial fibrillation is a type of irregular heartbeat and is one of the leading risk factors for stroke. Irregular heartbeat can cause blood to collect in the left atrial appendage and potentially form a clot, which can travel to a person’s brain and cause a stroke. The left atrial appendage is the part of the heart where most blood clots that cause strokes originate in patients with atrial fibrillation. The WATCHMAN™ Device is a new technology that allows patients an alternative way to prevent strokes if they have atrial fibrillation and are unable to tolerate long-term use of blood... Read More »