Patient Stories

Live and Love with all Your Heart

Susan Nylander loves to work in her garden, but because of the symptoms she experienced from atrial fibrillation, she always felt like a wilted plant.“I had no energy and was always winded. I would work a little and then have to sit down and rest,” Ms. Nylander said. “I...

When Every Second Counts

The only thing Caridad Engelmeyer could think about when she was being treated for a heart attack in the Heart Attack Unit at Baptist Hospital was her precious two-year-old daughter, Sophia, waiting for her at home.“ I remember thinking that this can’t be happening to me. I’m too...

Life Uninterrupted: An Aortic Aneurysm Repair

Active and athletic, Robert Longman had no signs or symptoms of his growing abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). The 77-year-old walked everyday for three miles with his wife, Susan, along Biscayne Bay near their Miami Shores home. He was busy with community functions and his family of 12 grown...

After a stroke, her message is… never lose hope .

Tommie Shelby, an 82-year-old Miami native, is very grateful her daughter took her to Baptist Hospital five years ago when she experienced a minor stroke at home. “I am so thankful for my doctors, Dr. Tsoukas and Dr. St. John. They took time to explain everything to me. They described...

At 42, he was not prepared for a heart attack… but we were

A heart attack at age 42? Mark Krzeminski never saw it coming. He has always been fit, active and athletic. He has no family history of heart disease and did not have any of the common risk factors. He has a wonderful family with two boys, ages 10 and 11, and a successful career. “I’ve...

His arrhythmia fixed, the beat goes on...

At the young age of 25, Brian Perez is living life with a pacemaker. “Honestly, I forget that I have it,” Mr. Perez said. “I live my life normally.”Mr. Perez is young and active and is an avid runner and cyclist. As a personnel recruiter for Norwegian Cruise Lines, he...

In sickness and in health… she would not miss her daughter’s wedding

Maria Meneses was glowing at her daughter’s bridal shower and was enjoying one of the happiest times in her life when the early symptoms of a heart attack struck. “I started to sweat, feel dizzy and was experiencing pain in my wrists and chest,” Ms. Meneses said. “It was...

The doctor becomes the patient

For over 40 years, Morton Getz, M.D., age 79, has cared for other people. He was an internist and gastroenterologist, practicing in Miami for more than 30 years. After leaving his practice, he continued caring for others as the vice president and medical director of Catholic Hospice and then as the...

Baptist Cardiac & Vascular Institute

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