HEALTHY DIRECTIONS
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Mohammed Chaudhry, 72, was in relatively good health, maintained an active lifestyle and proactively had regular cardiac stress tests. Then one morning, the Jackson resident experienced sudden chest pain, dizziness and numbness in his arms and hands. His wife, Musarat, took him to his nearby primary care doctor, who [...]
When Melody Blasenheim woke early in the morning and felt nauseous, she assumed she had food poisoning. She sat on the bathroom floor, waiting to vomit. But when she felt a sharp pain in her chest, she knew she had to seek emergency care. At the Emergency Department (ED) [...]
When Mildred Grace, 72, had an EKG as a safeguard before a scheduled surgery, it signaled that she may have a cardiac issue. At the advice of a friend, she contacted the Gloria Saker Women’s Heart Program at CentraState—where she learned that despite not having any symptoms, she had [...]
Long-Time First Responder Marks Another First Bart Amburgey, an 87-year-old lifelong resident of New Egypt, is considered by many as a legend in his hometown. Earning the nickname “Father Bart” for his reputation as a role model and storyteller, he has volunteered in his community throughout his life—including 47 [...]
Larry Donsky is known for cracking jokes and making people laugh, but when he suffered a heart attack last June, he got serious about his health with cardiac rehabilitation. Active in the men’s club of his adult community and the local Italian-American club, the 77-year-old Jackson resident regularly booked [...]
Feeling in the peak of health, 65-year-old Louise Cassar of Jackson visited her primary care physician in early February 2013 for her annual physical exam. To her surprise, the electrocardiogram (EKG), a routine part of the exam, revealed a slight abnormality. Despite Louise having had no symptoms that would [...]
Vicky Vydra, a 37-year-old mother of two from Marlboro, was an avid runner, skier, and scuba diver. When she developed a persistent headache, she was shocked that tests revealed she had a hole in her heart. After four weeks of debilitating headaches, Vicky visited her primary care physician, who [...]
For about a year, Sandy Gordon of Colts Neck had labored breathing when performing tasks such as climbing stairs, and just thought it was part of the aging process. When her breathing didn’t improve, she visited Kenneth D. Barofsky, MD, board-certified internal medicine physician and on staff at CentraState and [...]
Leon Rozenblat, 56, hadn’t been feeling well despite four stents his cardiologist had inserted and normal stress test results. Leon was experiencing a sense of pressure on his chest, constant fatigue, flushing and severe headaches. Unable to drive back to his cardiologist on Long Island, Leon made an appointment, at his wife’s urging, [...]
