Ralph Nader, M.D., is a board-certified clinical and nuclear cardiologist, and part of the new Cardiology Program at UHealth Doral, the University of Miami Health System. For more information on cardiovascular treatments and services, click here or visit the UHealth Collective:
MEET PEDRO VEGA:
Pedro Vega, an aviation mechanic, was just leaving work when he felt a strange pain.
“I felt a little pain right in the middle of the chest. It was just like a little screwdriver that was just bothering me,” Pedro says.
Pedro suffered a major heart attack and needed stents to open two blocked arteries. Soon after he went to see Ralph Nader, M.D., a board-certified clinical and nuclear cardiologist with 35 years of experience, now part of the new Cardiology Program at UHealth Doral.
“The initial presentation usually is acute chest discomfort, middle of the chest, left-sided, usually can radiate down the left arm, can go up to the jaw, the back, with sweating. The first 90 minutes are critical to open the artery that’s occluded so that the outcome could be better later. Because if the heart is damaged, it’s too much too late,” says Dr. Nader.
After a heart attack follow-up care is critical. Pedro is seeing Dr. Nader at the new UHealth Doral Cardiology Program offering patients state-of-the-art care right here in their own backyard.
“The patients now, they have access. The protocol is called guideline directed medical therapy for heart failure. We have four medications that we use… to get the heart better, to get the heart stronger, to avoid the defibrillator and to improve the long-term and quality of life,” Dr. Nader says.
The new Cardiology Program at UHealth Doral brings together the top-of-the-line cardiologists with the most innovative technology.
“We have the skills, and now we have the technology to make a diagnosis before heart attack occurs,” says Dr. Nader.
“I feel great. My life was back to normal, 100%,” Pedro says.
Pedro says since the heart attack, he now stops to take time to appreciate life.
“I just take breaks and take time and look around me and enjoy nature,” says Pedro.
The father of three is back to work and traveling with family. He’s thankful he put his heart in Dr. Nader’s hands.
“I hug him all the time. It’s not just, “Hi Doctor, how are you?” I go for a hug,” Pedro says.
FOCUSING ON YOU
Focusing on You: Innovations in Modern Medicine is a series of healthcare-related stories airing regularly on WPLG Local 10. For more stories like this one, visit YouTube channels for UHealth, the University of Miami Health System.
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