Heart & Vascular

From generation to generation, Hoag has improved — and many times, saved — lives, including mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, brothers and sisters. And grandfathers and grandsons. Sean Porter is reminded of that fact every time he looks into his grandfather’s eyes. Bill Porter had a heart attack and subsequent heart surgery by a … Read More

Having a heart attack at 32 is horrible enough. But when you’re told that the cause of your ailment is genetic, and you have two young boys at home, it does something to your psyche. For some, knowing you have genetic high cholesterol might leave you terrified. For others, like Gary Leibowitz, it will bring … Read More

Jenny Murphy has three children. This is significant not only because her children are young and rambunctious and adorable (which they are). It is significant because they might never have been born. Diagnosed with mitral valve prolapse at the age of 14, Jenny’s heart condition was monitored for more a decade before it became obvious … Read More

Gary Whitener knew his heart was in trouble a few years ago when he would get winded climbing a flight of stairs. Subbarao Myla, M.D., F.A.C.C., cardiologist and director of Hoag Cardiac Cath Labs, said Gary’s heart valve was damaged, and recommended he be evaluated for a transcatheter aortic valve replacement. Gary underwent the hour-long … Read More

From generation to generation, Hoag has improved — and many times, saved — lives, including mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, brothers and sisters. And grandfathers and grandsons. Sean Porter is reminded of that fact every time he looks into his grandfather’s eyes. Bill Porter had a heart attack and subsequent heart surgery by a … Read More

Angela Canlas still tears up when she thinks about her heart surgery, one year later. “I live in Nevada, but my cardiologist told me that if I were his daughter, there’s only one doctor he’d send me to and that I’d have to head to Newport Beach,” Angela said. “He said, ‘He’s the best.’” So, … Read More

Danniena (Danni) Sun thought she was too young to need major heart surgery. In 2013, Sun experienced an episode of chest pain and visited Hoag’s emergency department. As part of her work-up, she received a coronary CT scan, which uncovered a thoracic aortic aneurysm – a bulge in the wall of her aorta, the largest … Read More

“I have no doubt that if we had landed at any other hospital, Mark wouldn’t have made it,” Cindy says. “It sounds corny, but Hoag is special.”

For Sam Wolgemuth the problem was perplexing. After a day of clearing fallen trees on his vacation property in Wisconsin, Wolgemuth felt something he hadn’t ever felt before. His heart was pounding. It was uncomfortable, but not painful. It definitely wasn’t a heart attack, but then what was it? Wolgemuth’s wife, a nurse, listened to … Read More

Ken Darby was in pain. His aortic valve had grown so calcified, his cardiologist likened it to porcelain. He couldn’t walk up hills without getting winded, he was tired all the time, and a trip he and his wife, Annette, had planned to France had to be put on hold. He needed surgery. Darby had … Read More