nurse practitioner kay smith

Dignity is an important component of providing care for dying patients and their families. Death with dignity is an end-of-life option, governed by state legislation in the United States, and other lawmakers around the world. It
allows certain people with terminal illness to voluntarily and legally request and receive a prescription medication from their physician to hasten their death in a peaceful, humane, and dignified manner. In today's show we talk
about what you need to know about your freedom of choice when it comes to dignity in dying. It's an important conversation that could impact the discussions you have about life and death with your family and healthcare
team. 

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COVID-19 in its early days was classified as only a respiratory illness with varying degrees of severity. But as healthcare professionals learned more over time, they started also considering it a vascular disease because of blood clots that led to serious complications, including death, in patients suffering from COVID-19. In today's show hosts, Dr. John Phillips and Kym McNicholas are joined by guest co-host Nurse Practitioner Kay Smith and Cardiothoracic Surgeon Dr. David Allie, and a patient who almost lost his legs following vascular complications due to COVID-19, to talk about those vascular complications and strategies to minimize arterial/venous thromboembolism (blood clots), myocardial infarction (damage to the heart muscle caused by lack of blood supply, which could be the result of a blood clot) complications. Some of those strategies discussed include earlier bloodwork to check cardiovascular biomarkers such as D-dimer and troponin as well as ultrasound imaging of the lungs, heart, and legs upon the early presentation of symptoms, which could signal an earlier need for aggressive intervention and treatment.

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Douglas is on deck for open heart surgery and decided to join the show just minutes before air time to inspire others by sharing his courageous journey. He heard that Dr. Mehrzad Zarghouni, Interventional Radiologist with Houston Vein & Vascular, was going to be on the show as co-host since Dr. Phillips was on call and taking care of an urgent heart patient at Ohio Health, and he popped on just before our producer Aikman did the final countdown. Douglas wanted to thank Dr. Z, who was named U.S. Vascular Doctor of the Year 2022 by advocacy nonprofit The Way To My Heart, for saving his life. Douglas had shown up to see Dr. Z a few months ago for a procedure to unblock arteries in his legs because of a disease known as Peripheral Artery Disease, which is defined by plaque build-up in mainly the leg arteries which restricts blood flow, causing debilitating pain. Douglas seemed off that morning and was complaining of fatigue and chest pain. Dr. Z sent him immediately to the emergency department and called a friend, an Interventional Cardiologist, who was on call that day who was able to get diagnosed and stabilized. Douglas has a very rare apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which is when the walls of the heart become thicker than they should be. This excessive thickening can cause the heart to become more stiff and leaves less room for blood to fill the heart. Douglas is now on deck for open heart surgery next week to improve his prognosis. During the show Douglas was able to ask our guest panel questions to ease his fears about the procedure and the aftermath. The Way To My Heart Nurse Practitioner Kay Smith was able to provide an in-depth explanation of Douglas' situation. Then Nurse Practitioner/CRNA Kathryn Walker, who's also CEO of Revitalist, a group of mental wellness treatment centers, walked Douglas through what to expect from the moment he's wheeled down to the operating room clear through recovery. Dietitian Melissa Hooper (www.dietitianmelissa.com) answered Douglas' questions about how to improve his health following open heart surgery. Also, in the show's Save My Piggies segment, Dr. John Corl, Interventional Cardiologist with Christ Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio is joined by his patient Marcia to talk about how the right doctor and "modern medicine" changed her life and made her "new" again.

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