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A Fresh Start – Husband Gives Priceless Gift to Wife on Wedding Anniversary

Had Bob Kime, 67, not opened the Tulsa World paper June 13, 2013, and noticed an ad that read, “for many people the first symptom of heart disease is a heart attack,” he may not have thought of his own heart health. The ad featured a new promotion available at Oklahoma Heart Institute to have a state-of-the-art cardiac CT scan for $499 with no physician referral necessary. “I thought that’s $499 and I called,” says Bob of picking of the phone to schedule his scan.

The father of five with the 12th grandchild on the way, thought it would be “a good test” to check on a few things –... Read More »

Inside the Cath Lab - Balloon Valvuloplasty

Today we are taking you inside the heart catheritization lab at Oklahoma Heart Institute for a balloon valvuloplasty procedure to determine valve sizing prior to TAVR.

 

New Statin Guidelines and What This Means For You

New recommendations were announced Tuesday by the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association. They say an estimated 31 percent of Americans could benefit from the use of statin drugs. That figure is more than double the current percentage (15 percent) of Americans taking these medications to lower their cholesterol. The recommendation, which is based on a four-year review of data, aims to simplify the multi-process evaluation for people who should be taking statins.

Oklahoma Heart Institute cardiologist Dr. Raj Chandwaney explains why these new... Read More »

Cardiac CT Angiography: What is it? When do I order it?

Director of the cardiac CT program at Oklahoma Heart Institute Dr. Victor Cheng joins us on the blog today to talk about the program and when patients should be referred for a scan. 

Cardiac computed tomographic angiography (CTA) is special CT scan that images the entire heart when heart structures are relatively still. A steady heart rate of less than 60 beats per minute will provide the best possible image quality in most patients. Oklahoma Heart Institute began a dedicated Cardiac CT program in June 2013. This program uses the CTA, which is based on echocardiograms and is... Read More »

Minute for Your Heart - Choosing the Right Heart Arrhythmia Monitor

Cardiac electrophysiologist Dr. David Sandler joins us today on the blog to talk about heart monitors for arrhythmia patients. 

Patients who experience symptoms such as palpitation or fainting spells are often prescribed monitors in order to catch a potential heart rhythm abnormality. Choosing the proper monitor requires the provider to take a thorough history and have knowledge of potential diagnostic tools.

The most commonly prescribed monitor is a 24-hour, continuously recording device called a Holter monitor (named after its inventor, Norman Jeff Holter). While this... Read More »

What Should We Learn from President Bush’s “Potentially Life-Threatening” Heart Condition?

A National Journal article published Oct. 11, two months after President George W. Bush underwent a heart catheritization to have a stent clear and open a blocked artery, says his heart health was more serious than first believed – potentially life-threatening. The 95-percent blockage that sent the former Commander-in-Chief known for his regular runs to a Texas hospital was first discovered during a routine stress test. President Bush was not experiencing any symptoms of a heart attack. A subsequent CT angiogram revealed the extent of the blockage, leading to the decision by his medical... Read More »

Does Sitting Trump Smoking?

There is a new term making its way around the Internet – “Sitting is the new smoking.” If it sounds shocking, it’s meant to, as researchers are taking a long, hard look at how we spend our time and what impact that is having on our health. Just as smoking a little is still smoking, sitting all week is still sitting, even though you also find time to work out. What they have found you may not want to sit down for, so go ahead and stand up.

We sit way too much

According to a 2012 study published in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity... Read More »

Preventing DVT when Traveling

The Oklahoma Heart Research and Education Foundation recently held their bi-annual symposium in Tulsa, OK. Health care providers from across the region listened to presentations from several Oklahoma Heart Institute cardiologist on a variety of topics. One particular moment received spontaneous laughter from the audience, as Dr. Eugene Ichinose pulled a chair onto the stage, upon which he preceded to stand and model his compression socks underneath his suit. The demonstration was both a comical break and illustration of the point of his presentation – preventing deep vein thrombosis (DVT... Read More »

Tulsan Saved by New Heart Valve Replacement Procedure - NewsOn6

A revolutionary procedure for heart patients is celebrating one-and-a-half years of getting Oklahomans back on their feet. The procedure is for patients who are too sick for open heart surgery but facing long odds of survival.

One Tulsa man says the procedure is almost too good to be true.

"I tell you, it's hard to grasp. It's almost been a year of euphoria," said Jim Meehan.

Jim Meehan says he was "staring death in the eyes" almost two years ago. He was suffering from aortic stenosis, a disease that causes the opening of the aortic valve to narrow.

"At that... Read More »

Minute for Your Heart - Are E-cigarettes an effective smoking cessation aid?

Dr. Neil Agrawal joins us on the blog today to share information on the results of a new study examining the effectiveness of e-cigarettes as a smoking cessation aid. 

An electronic cigarette (or e-cigarette), personal vaporizer (PV), or electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) is an electronic inhaler. It has recently gained popularity with millions of people trying it as a substitute or utilize as a cessation aid for traditional tobacco cigarettes. There are 5.5 trillion cigarettes smoke globally.

Leading to:

More than 440,000 deaths annually (including deaths... Read More »