February is American Heart Month, and HCA Healthcare is proud to join the American Heart Association (AHA) to celebrate and raise awareness about heart disease and stroke. We collaborate with AHA to educate communities about heart disease, the leading cause of death in women, to honor heart heroes and to urge every family in the U.S. to learn lifesaving CPR.
On average, your heart can beat around 100,000 times a day. With this knowledge, when was the last time you thought about taking care of it? As American Heart Month continues, we are highlighting the American Heart Association’s “Life’s Essential 8TM” – key measures for improving and maintaining cardiovascular health. Better cardiovascular health helps lower the risk for heart disease, stroke and other major health problems.
Learn more about the American Heart Association’s Life’s Essential 8.
Eat better. Aim for an overall healthy eating pattern that includes whole foods, lots of fruits and vegetables, lean protein, nuts, seeds, and cooking in non-tropical oils such as olive and canola.Be more active. Adults should get 2 ½ hours of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous physical activity per week. Kids should have 60 minutes every day, including play and structured activities.Quit tobacco. Use of inhaled nicotine delivery products, which includes traditional cigarettes, e-cigarettes and vaping, is the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S., including about a third of all deaths from heart disease. Roughly 40% of U.S. children ages 3-11 are exposed to secondhand smoke.Get healthy sleep. Most adults need 7-9 hours of sleep each night. Children require more: 10-16 hours for ages 5 and younger, including naps; 9-12 hours for ages 6-12; and 8-10 hours for ages 13-18. Adequate sleep promotes healing, improves brain function and reduces the risk for chronic diseases.Manage weight. Achieving and maintaining a healthy weight has many benefits. Body mass index, a numerical value of your weight in relation to your height, is a useful gauge. Optimal BMI is less than 25, but less than 18.5 is considered underweight. You can calculate it online or consult a healthcare professional.Control cholesterol. High levels of non-HDL, or “bad,” cholesterol can lead to heart disease. Your health care professional can consider non-HDL cholesterol as the preferred number to monitor, rather than total cholesterol, because it can be measured without fasting beforehand and is reliably calculated among all people.Manage blood sugar. Most of the food we eat is turned into glucose (or blood sugar) that our bodies use as energy. Over time, high levels of blood sugar can damage your heart, kidneys, eyes and nerves. As part of testing, monitoring hemoglobin A1c can better reflect long-term control in people with diabetes or prediabetes.Manage blood pressure. Keeping your blood pressure within acceptable ranges can keep you healthier longer. Levels less than 120/80 mm Hg are optimal. High blood pressure is defined as 130-139 mm Hg systolic pressure (the top number in a reading) or 80-89 mm Hg diastolic pressure (bottom number).
As we recognize American Heart Month, we’re sharing six stories of HCA Healthcare patients who are grateful today for the care they received to make their hearts stronger.
Heart transplant journey leads to a lifelong love
HCA Healthcare patient Danny Tucker has a new lease on life and love. Through Danny’s journey of seeking lifesaving heart care, he found a lifelong partner in HCA Florida Healthcare nurse Marisa Thompson.
At 21 years old, Danny began experiencing severe chest pain and sought emergency medical attention. His medical team discovered Danny was facing complete organ failure. Marisa, a family friend of Danny’s and an HCA Florida Trinity Hospital nurse, was looped into Tucker’s health situation and immediately became an advocate for hope and a strong proponent for seeking a second opinion. Her research and knowledge of HCA Healthcare’s collaborative network of expert care led her to HCA Florida Largo Hospital’s Advanced Heart Failure Center, where Danny was quickly accepted as a patient. The team immediately began to explore his treatment options.
Once admitted, Danny’s heart failure team recommended a wearable cardiac defibrillator as a precautionary measure should he suddenly go into cardiac arrest. He also received a portable IV pump and infusion to help his heart pump stronger, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This would ultimately serve as the bridge to his heart transplant. Marisa was there every step of the way. Soon after discharge, Danny asked Marisa on a lunch date to thank her, and their love story began.
Danny was on the heart transplant waiting list for less than three months before receiving his new heart in 2022 at HCA Florida Largo Hospital, one of nine HCA Healthcare transplant hospitals. In 2024, Danny proposed to Marisa, and the couple has plans to get married on the Amalfi Coast in Italy, surrounded by their closest friends and family, in April 2025 during Donate Life Month.
“I’m motivated to be the best version of myself every single day I’ve been given. To be kind, say hello and start a conversation with strangers, to laugh off mistakes. Since this all happened, even though it was terrifying, it changed everything about my life. Half because I met someone who pushes me to be a better version of myself every day, and half because I know that someone else made the selfless decision to donate organs for a total stranger. My donor and their family deserve a legacy of kindness and strength. (HCA Florida) Largo’s team is a family, when they tell you they care they mean it. They’ll do everything they can to give you the best possible outcome.”
Danny Tucker, HCA Florida Largo Hospital heart transplant patient
Expert heart care helps two Tennessee chaplains return to the bedside
After open-heart surgeries, the chaplains at HCA Healthcare’s TriStar Centennial Medical Center and TriStar Hendersonville Medical Center have new perspectives as they continue to meet the spiritual needs of our patients and colleagues.
In the fall of 2024, Pastor Willie Acevedo walked a patient to the radiology waiting room at TriStar Hendersonville Medical Center in Hendersonville, Tennessee. Although he had been to that waiting room hundreds of times before and seen posters about cardiac calcium scoring screenings, that day felt different. He wasn’t experiencing any symptoms and didn’t have a family history of heart disease, but he felt led to complete the simple heart screening.
A few weeks later, Pastor Willie completed the screening and was surprised to learn that his calcium score was extremely high and that he had five major blockages in his arteries. He was referred to TriStar Centennial Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, where he underwent heart bypass surgery on October 23, 2024. “I think it’s God’s grace that I’m here,” said Pastor Willie. “I still must serve a purpose.”
While recovering in the hospital, Pastor Willie was visited by his good friend and TriStar Centennial chaplain, Allen Tanner. After the encouraging visit, Pastor Willie continued his recovery and made a full return to his hospital duties. Little did Chaplain Tanner know, he would soon be experiencing his own cardiac emergency.
On November 15, Chaplain Tanner was visiting the administrative offices at TriStar Centennial Medical Center, where the hospital’s chief executive officer noticed Chaplain Tanner seemed different. Chaplain Tanner said he had been feeling fatigued lately, but assumed it was nothing to worry about.
Chaplain Tanner went to the hospital’s emergency room, where the team performed several tests. The cardiology team found that he was 99% blocked in one artery and 86% blocked in three other arteries, which led to an emergency quadruple bypass surgery.
“It’s a miracle how God used the doctors and surgeons and their gifts they have to restore my body and keep me alive,” said Chaplain Tanner. Although Chaplain Tanner suffered a small stroke a week later, he is now on the road to recovery. He is attending sessions in outpatient cardiac rehab and working a modified schedule.
Both chaplains have found a new perspective in the work they do each day to meet the spiritual needs of patients and colleagues at their respective hospitals.
“I am very fortunate and very blessed to be here today,” said Chaplain Tanner. “Walking, talking, ministering to others – that is my heart. That is what I am called to do, and apparently God is not done with me yet.” Pastor Willie added, “I tell patients now who are going through a medical situation with complications or an extensive recovery time that a positive attitude and, of course, faith will help them in their recovery.”
Utah mom reunites with healthcare workers who saved her life after a rare heart attack
On May 3, 2024, HCA Healthcare patient Justine Carter began to experience sudden onset chest pain, shortness of breath and nausea during her treadmill workout. Justine, a 33-year-old wife and mother of two, was home alone with her four-year-old son.
Due to the symptoms Justine was experiencing, she immediately called her husband, who rushed home. Justine’s mother-in-law, Teresa, also hurried to her side. Justine would later learn that she was experiencing a rare heart attack sparked by a Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection (SCAD). The inner layer of Justine’s artery had unexpectedly torn, resulting in the swelling of her artery’s wall and obstructing vital blood flow.
In those critical moments, every action mattered. Upon arriving at the scene, Teresa, a nurse at HCA Healthcare’s Mountain View Hospital in Payson, Utah, immediately began CPR. Santaquin Fire and EMS arrived within minutes and took over chest compressions while administering on-the-scene care. Their tireless efforts, including multiple shocks with an automated external defibrillator (AED), were crucial in reviving Justine’s heartbeat — after 25 intense minutes.
EMS transferred Justine to Mountain View Hospital, where she spent several days in the ICU on a ventilator in a medically induced coma. Clinicians at the hospital, which is accredited for Chest Pain Care by the American College of Cardiology, worked diligently to preserve Justine’s brain function and to facilitate her recovery.
While back at home, Justine experienced another cardiac event and was once again taken to HCA Healthcare’s Mountain View Hospital. Once there, the emergency team ran tests and confirmed heart trouble. On top of that, Justine’s blood pressure plummeted to dangerously low levels. Our incredible healthcare colleagues worked to stabilize Justine’s blood pressure enough to air transport Justine via medical helicopter to HCA Healthcare’s Timpanogos Regional Hospital in Orem, Utah – a nearby sister hospital. Justine Carter says, “Mountain View Hospital saved my life – twice.”
HCA Healthcare’s Timpanogos Regional Hospital’s cardiac cath lab team, operating room team, thoracic surgeon and cardiologist awaited Justine’s arrival. They quickly obtained another visualization of the heart using contrasting dye and saw that Justine’s original aortic tear had grown in length, causing more swelling and yet another occlusion. After restoring blood flow by deploying a balloon to compress the interior wound, the cardiologist implanted a small heart pump to temporarily relieve Justine’s heart of some of its workload. For the next three days, Justine lay still as a machine assisted her heart.
Slowly, the cardiology team reduced the mechanical heart pump’s function. As the pump did less, Justine’s heart did more. Eventually, Justine’s heart took the full load of work, and a few days later, Justine returned home to her family for good.
Justine’s condition, SCAD, has no known cause or risk factors. “Although it is not perfectly clear what causes SCAD, patients are often women – very similar to Justine’s case – who are otherwise healthy,” Dr. Mark Bair, medical director of the emergency department at HCA Healthcare’s Mountain View Hospital — the physician who treated Carter — told Fox News Digital.
Related article: After suffering a heart attack on treadmill, Utah mom issues warning | Fox News
She has made a remarkable recovery thanks to the expertise of two HCA Healthcare hospitals and the swift action of Justine’s mother-in-law and first responders, who quickly provided resuscitation efforts. Justine says her heart attack was life-changing and has taught her some valuable lessons. “As women, we tend to put everyone else’s needs above our own,” she said. “We have to say, ‘This is how I’m feeling and this is what I’m going to do about it.’”
Congenital heart disease care saved Baby Cal’s life
Congenital heart defects (CHD) are the most common birth defect in the United States, affecting nearly 1 in 100 babies each year. Through advanced surgical techniques and compassionate, comprehensive pediatric heart teams, HCA Healthcare CHD patients like Cal Crawford have hope for a full, healthy future.
Before his birth, Cal was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect and Down syndrome. “So, we knew ahead of time that we would be facing challenges when he was born,” his mother Kristen explained. She was referred to Medical City Lewisville for high-risk maternity care.
In the early hours of Mother’s Day in 2024, Kristen had an emergency C-section at 31 weeks, and Cal was taken to the Lewisville, Texas hospital’s Level III NICU. For eight weeks, Cal received highly skilled neonatal care to continue to grow and develop.
Through Medical City Healthcare’s collaborative network, Cal was transferred to sister facility Medical City Children’s Hospital where he received surgery and treatment for his congenital heart defect.
“Because of the relationship we have with Medical City Lewisville, it was a very easy transfer when he was ready for surgery,” shared Dr. Kristine Guleserian, congenital heart surgery program director at Medical City Children’s Hospital in Dallas. “In fact, he was transferred for the placement of a feeding tube so we could kind of buff up his weight before his open heart surgery that we had planned for somewhere between four and six months of age.”
“I’m just incredibly grateful. Grateful that he’s here safe, that I’m here and healthy. They treated us like family.”
Kristen, Cal’s mother
Nursing professor cared for by former students after experiencing a heart attack
HCA Healthcare heart attack survivor Barbara Voshall has taught generations of nurses as an instructor at Graceland University of Nursing’s campus in Independence, Missouri. Each day, Barbara prepares her students for clinical practice by instructing them on patient care methods and how to identify health risks and symptoms. In August 2024, Barbara was in the middle of a lecture when she experienced sweating, vomiting and severe chest pain. Leaving the classroom to address her symptoms, Barbara sat by an elevator where her co-worker found her and immediately called 9-1-1.
EMS and paramedics arrived and quickly attached a heart monitor to Barbara and transported her to HCA Healthcare’s Centerpoint Medical Center, a Certified Level II Trauma Center recognized for high-quality, award-winning cardiovascular care. There, the hospital’s trauma emergency team determined that she was experiencing a ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI), a complete blockage in her coronary artery. After a successful surgery, Barbara was moved to the intensive care unit (ICU), where she stayed overnight.
“Our trauma team and emergency room staff have the honor of working with some of the region’s best first responders who represent the most skilled professionals and compassionate hearts in healthcare,” said Centerpoint Medical Center Chief Medical Officer Dr. Darryl Nelson. “Their work helping save patient lives like Barbara’s when minutes and seconds can mean the difference between life and death is nothing short of a miracle.” Like the team that cared for her, Barbara knows that time is of the essence when it comes to heart attacks.
“I share my story with friends, family, students and even strangers. Seeking medical attention and immediately calling 9-1-1 is critical, as it could have been a different scenario for me had I waited longer to go to the hospital.”
Barbara Voshall, HCA Healthcare heart attack survivor
While hospitals can be filled with unfamiliar faces for most patients, that was not the case for Barbara. The nursing school teacher shared that being cared for in her time of need by some of her former students made her experience and recovery even more meaningful.
“Everybody that we see is someone that somebody loves and cares for,” shared Kerry McLean, cardiac catheterization lab (cath lab) supervisor and Barbara’s previous nursing student. “I think it’s a good reminder of the seriousness and the weight of what we get to do every day.”
Read more about how Barbara reunited with the teams that saved her life.
A Christmas wish for a new heart is answered on New Year’s Day
Each year, HCA Healthcare’s highly skilled transplant teams make a second chance at life possible for patients through organ transplantation. After receiving a lifesaving heart transplant at HCA Florida Largo Hospital, 62-year-old HCA Healthcare patient Phillip Allen began 2025 filled with a new sense of hope.
In December 2024, Phillip faced a serious heart condition that significantly impacted his quality of life. He found himself among the more than 3,400 people in the U.S. on the waiting list for a heart transplant.
“Dr. Andrew Boyle, my heart failure physician, came into my room and said that we would soon become new best friends – his goal was to get me a new heart by the end of the year. It deeply touched my heart that a specialist doctor would declare to help me. I knew I was in the right place at Largo Hospital.”
Phillip Allen, HCA Healthcare heart transplant patient
While at HCA Florida Largo Hospital, Phillip attended a hospital holiday celebration and he shared his one Christmas wish with Santa — to receive a new heart. Little did he know, Phillip would receive a call on New Year’s Eve that his advanced transplant team had found a perfect match.
“On a night when the world celebrated the end of one cycle and the beginning of another, the quiet, brightly lit operating room became the stage for a unique renewal – the beating of a new heart, carrying hope for a life that once seemed uncertain,” shared Dr. Alexandre Colafranceschi, Phillip’s heart transplant surgeon. “When the monitor signals the first beats of a newly transplanted heart, there is a greater meaning.”
Phillip’s journey marks a significant chapter in the history of HCA Florida Largo Hospital’s transplant program. The hospital performed its first heart transplant in March 2020, and Phillip is the 100th patient who received a second chance of life through heart transplantation. From diagnosis to recovery, our comprehensive transplant teams across HCA Healthcare – equipped with transplant specialists, surgeons, social workers, coordinators and more – walk beside our patients with care and compassion.
