Patient Stories
Jana
I didn't think I would ever get my old life back, but I'm stronger and healthier than I was a decade ago.
Craig
I live in Texas, and after 64 years of almost perfect health, experiencing a cardiac arrest was the last thing on my mind. I had started a new health routine 18 months prior that involved exercise and health supplements. Immediately I developed night sweats, something I had never experienced before.
Tiffany
I have tried to lead a pretty healthy life, eating well and staying active, but when my brother recently needed a quintuple bypass at age 50 it rocked me a little.
Jessica
I was born with pulmonary stenosis. Later I was diagnosed with tachycardia and had an ablation to fix my heart’s rhythm. I was fine for about two decades until a couple years ago, when I suffered a grand mal seizure and was rushed to OHSU for open heart surgery.
Heidi
I was born with congenital heart disease and had multiple surgeries by the time I was three years old. Three decades later, I needed to have my pulmonary valve replaced. It’s a good reminder to get regular cardiac care: Even if you feel fine, the architecture of your heart can be changing.
Brittany
I was born with congenital heart disease, and was always told I wouldn’t be able to have children because of my condition. Then I got pregnant.
Don
I had acute aortic stenosis. A normal heart valve is about the width of a quarter: Mine was a centimeter. A friend of mine had recently had transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), and said great things about it.
Wesley
Wesley was diagnosed with heart failure at age 29. Learn how OHSU's multidisciplinary heart team is helping Wesley stay healthy and active while he waits for his heart transplant.
Mark
I'm normally very active, but I was having problems with daily activities. That's when my cardiologist suggested cardiac rehab at OHSU.
Tom
A year ago, I had just finished jogging with my daughter and she was driving me home in the car when I had a heart attack. I didn't have any of the warning signs: I just slumped over.
Susan
When I was born, I had Tetralogy of Fallot, a congenital heart condition. I had two heart surgeries, one when I was two months old and then open heart surgery when I was 14. When I moved from Alaska to Oregon, I needed to find a cardiologist. My doctor in Alaska was trained at OHSU, and so I knew it was a good place to go.
Read Susan's story
Jim
About a year ago, I suffered a heart attack - 99 percent of my lateral descending artery was blocked. I was taken to a local hospital, where I received a stent that saved my life. But afterwards I continued to suffer heart pain. I was referred to Dr. Joaquin Cigarroa at OHSU.
Read Jim's story
Ann
Miguel
“I can’t possibly be having a heart attack,” said Miguel Martinez, when chest pain kept him up one night. But the pain wasn’t going away.
Read Miguel's story
Aki
As an Aikido instructor, Aki is a master at self-defense. But one day after teaching class in his southwest Portland studio, he felt a sharp pain in his chest. Suddenly he faced a new and deadly opponent.
Mary
Some of the most amazing places in life can only be found by following your heart. For sculptor Mary Lewis, one of those amazing places is OHSU.