News & Blog

Heart Treatment at Fort Sanders Scores Big With Coach

Coaching has been part of Joseph Fisher’s life for years. The Knoxville man, 54, has volunteered his time with many Peewee football, basketball and baseball teams. On Aug. 27, 2012, at an 8-year-olds’ football game, Fisher discovered he was not as well as he thought he was. He felt a severe burning in his chest […]

Cardiac Rehab Helps Woman Get Heart Healthy

Helen “Snooky” Ward of Knoxville loves making people smile. She and her husband, Dallas, are professional clowns, entertaining crowds at local baseball games, community events and parties. But heart disease is no laughing matter to Ward. On Father’s Day in June, Ward had her second heart attack and second cardiac stent procedure in seven years. […]

Man’s Heart Cath Placed thru Wrist

Battling heart disease and diabetes for years, Johnny Braden of Caryville, 67, had angioplasty in 1990 and a number of cardiac stents installed after that, the most recent in August at Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center. A cardiac stent is a tiny metal mesh cylinder that props open a blood vessel in the heart muscle […]

Fort Sanders Heart Team Saves Knox Man from Deadly “Widow Maker” Heart Attack

For most of his 73 years, Dave Matthews has been very healthy and active. The West Knoxville man walks several miles every day, has never smoked and never experienced any heart problems. That’s why Matthews was surprised when he suddenly began having severe chest pains, trouble breathing and heavy sweating while running errands one day […]

Woman’s Heart Blockage Treated with Procedure thru Wrist

Judith Hodge sees people with heart disease every day. As a staff member of the Fort Sanders Heart Center, she well knows the signs and symptoms of a heart attack. But, when Judith herself began experiencing chest pains off and on, she dismissed the warning signs. She spent the night in the hospital and in […]

Fort Sanders Cardiac Rehab Gets Dancer Back on Her Toes

Before coming up with her walking routine, 79-year-old Jin Gaston attended Fort Sanders Cardiac Rehabilitation Outpatient Program for 12 weeks after her quintuple bypass surgery. The program instructors taught her the importance of exercising to recover from the heart surgery that likely saved her life. “My doctors say I was a walking heart time bomb,” […]

Wife Saves Stubborn Husband from Heart Attack

If there’s one thing 57-year-old Eddie McMillan of Knoxville has learned in the last year, it’s not to argue with his wife, Teresa, in the middle of the night. Last June, McMillan had been having shortness of breath for about a month. He made an appointment with Knoxville Heart Group cardiologist Dr. Daniel Slutzker for […]

Quick Medical Action Helps Knoxville Man Survive Heart Attack

One day last summer, 60-year-old Charlie Morgan enjoyed a hearty lunch with the Knoxville QuarterbackClub at a local restaurant. He is used to sharing a steak with fellow UT Vols fans and serves on the boards of both the Quarterback Club and the Big Orange Club. But that afternoon, Morgan began to feel a heaviness […]