The Heart of Innovation with Kym McNicholas

Could artificial intelligence identify Peripheral Artery Disease before patients face limb loss? Researchers at UC San Diego have developed a machine-learning model that analyzes a simple light-based signal from the toe to detect PAD with remarkable accuracy. This breakthrough has the potential to make PAD screening faster, more accessible, and eventually available on your smartphone. Kym McNicholas and Dr. John Phillips sit down with vascular surgeon Dr. Elsie Ross, cardiologist Dr. Mattheus Ramsis, and engineering PhD student Ava Faccetti to break down how artificial intelligence is transforming vascular health and what this could mean for millions living with undiagnosed disease. FULL RESEARCH DISCUSSION: Altmetric: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41746-026-02655-w/metrics DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41746-026-02655-w People who think they have PAD can call the Global PAD Associaton's Leg Saver Hotline at 1-833-PAD-LEGS to learn more and get assistance finding a testing site or treatment. #peripheralarterydisease #padsupport #legpain #legcramps #ABItest #vasculardiseasediagnosis #paddiagnosis #ucsandiego #newpadresearch #globalpadassociation

She lost her leg in a traumatic accident… and turned it into a mission to help others find strength, identity, and purpose again. This is the story behind Less Leg More Heart — and why it matters for every patient facing limb loss or PAD. I'm talking with Tina Godfrey Hurley, founder of Less Leg More Heart, alongside Dr. John Phillips, about what happens after amputation — physically, emotionally, and mentally — and how patients rebuild their lives in ways most people never see. Tina's journey started with a devastating accident that led to limb loss at a young age. Today, she's helping others navigate trauma, identity, mental health, and recovery through her nonprofit and advocacy work. We're getting into: • What patients really experience after limb loss • The emotional side of recovery doctors don't always see • How identity, confidence, and purpose evolve after trauma • Why community and support systems change outcomes • What PAD patients can learn from the amputee community If you've ever thought, "no one understands what this feels like," this conversation will hit home. 🎥 SUBSCRIBE for real conversations that go beyond medicine: https://www.youtube.com/@thewaytomyheart 🆘 NEED HELP NOW? 📞 PAD Leg Saver Hotline: 1-833-PAD-LEGS 🌐 TRUSTED RESOURCES https://padhelp.org https://padsupportgroup.org #PAD #PeripheralArteryDisease #Amputation #LimbLoss #VascularHealth #PatientStories #TheHeartOfInnovation #PADAwareness #PatientAdvocacy #LessLegMoreHeart

Peripheral Artery Disease is more prevalent than most cancers — and often deadlier when missed. Yet it is still underdiagnosed, misunderstood, and too often treated in silos. On this episode of The Heart of Innovation, hosts Kym McNicholas and Dr. John Phillips, Interventional Cardiologist, sit down with Dr. David Dexter, Vascular Surgeon at Sentara Health, who was named the Global PAD Association's Multidisciplinary Team Leader of the Year through the Global PAD Impact Awards. This PAD Awareness Day — observed the third Saturday of every February during American Heart Month — we are talking about why leg health is heart health. PAD is not just a leg problem. Blocked leg arteries are a warning sign for heart attack and stroke. And patients deserve a coordinated vascular care team — not fragmented care. In this conversation, we break down: • Why PAD is more common than many cancers — yet still diagnosed too late • The danger of treating patients in silos • What a true multidisciplinary vascular care team looks like • How cardiology, vascular surgery, podiatry, wound care, and primary care must work together • Why "Sock It to PAD" and Red Sock Day matter during American Heart Month • What patients should demand from their care teams Too many amputations are preventable. Too many heart attacks have warning signs in the legs first. It is time to connect the dots. If you or someone you love has leg pain when walking, numbness, wounds that won't heal, diabetes, kidney disease, or a history of smoking — this conversation could save a limb and a life. 📞 Call the Global PAD Association Leg Saver Hotline with questions about PAD.1-833-PAD-LEGS 🔔 Subscribe to @TheWayToMyHeart for more conversations that challenge the status quo in cardiovascular care. 👍 Like, comment, and share to raise awareness this PAD Awareness Day. Because saving legs saves lives. #PADAwarenessDay #SockItToPAD #PeripheralArteryDisease #VascularCare #HeartHealth #AmericanHeartMonth #PreventAmputation #LegHealthIsHeartHealth #PAD

In this episode of The Heart of Innovation, cohosts Kym McNicholas and Dr. John Phillips feature multiple patients courageously sharing their lived experiences with Peripheral Artery Disease, including rare and often misunderstood cases that challenge what patients are told is "possible." Pamela's story highlights a critical gap in PAD care. After being told by a large hospital system that amputation was inevitable, she reached out to the Global PAD Association's Leg Saver Hotline. Through patient advocacy and care coordination, the underlying contributors to her disease were identified, including the role climate played in worsening her symptoms. Her decision to relocate to a warmer environment helped stabilize her condition and avoid limb loss, proving that earlier intervention and individualized care matter. Francine's journey offers another rare perspective. Diagnosed at just 48 despite being a runner, personal trainer, and fitness instructor, she was found to have a full occlusion in her left leg and intermittent blockages in her right. After undergoing a femoral-popliteal bypass, multiple stents, and angioplasty procedures, Francine transformed her lifestyle through the Dean Ornish program and a low-fat vegan diet. She has since completed four half marathons and continues teaching group fitness, yoga, and Reiki. Theresa's story exposes how often PAD is dismissed, even when the warning signs are clear. With a family history of PAD, Theresa recognized the symptoms early. At 46, she sought help after developing walking pain, only to be told repeatedly that it was a back problem and that she was "too young" to have PAD. A Doppler study was performed but interpreted as normal. For five years, as her symptoms worsened and her walking distance shrank to less than ten metres, she continued to advocate for herself before finally insisting on a vascular referral. Within minutes of meeting a vascular consultant, Theresa was diagnosed with severe PAD. Imaging revealed a 100 percent blockage in her right leg and 80 percent in her left. Angioplasty provided temporary relief, but restenosis occurred quickly. A second procedure resulted in arterial injury, requiring placement of a 30-centimetre stent in her right thigh. Despite ongoing pain, Theresa developed remarkable collateral circulation, so robust that it complicated intervention attempts. Today, she remains closely monitored by a responsive vascular specialist and manages her condition with vigilance, pacing, and rest. She also notes a meaningful improvement in walking pain after starting Wegovy, an observation she continues to discuss with her care team. Equally important, Theresa speaks candidly about the emotional toll of PAD. A special education teacher who loves to travel, she feared the disease would take away the life she loved, as it had for her father. After a period of isolation, she made a conscious decision that PAD would be part of her story, but not the author of it. She now works full time, travels when she can, adapts when needed, and lives by a powerful truth: she controls PAD, not the other way around. Together, these stories reinforce a message too many patients never hear in time: Leg pain, cramping, and difficulty walking are not normal aging. They are warnings. 👉 Tune in to hear these powerful patient stories and learn why early diagnosis, self-advocacy, and conservative options like structured walking can change outcomes and save lives.Calls to Action 📞 In the U.S.? Call the Leg Saver Hotline: 1-833-PAD-LEGS to talk with someone about possible circulation issues in your legs. 🌐 Learn more about PAD and conservative treatment options Visit padhelp.org to understand PAD, early symptoms, and access our free proprietary structured walking program, available to everyone. 👥 Join our PAD Facebook Support Community Connect with patients and caregivers at padsupportgroup.org. 👍 Support the show Like, subscribe, and turn on notifications at youtube.com/@thewaytomyheart so you never miss an episode. #PeripheralArteryDisease #PADawareness #HeartHealth #AmericanHeartMonth #LegPainIsNotNormal #CirculationMatters #VascularHealth #StructuredWalking #PatientStories #PreventAmputation #StrokePrevention #HeartDiseaseAwareness #TheHeartOfInnovation #TheWayToMyHeart

No description provided.

On this episode of The Heart of Innovation, we sit down with Dr. Jean Chen, a diabetes educator and retired podiatrist whose lifelong commitment to medicine was shaped by service, resilience, and lived experience. Dr. Chen knew she wanted to be a doctor by the age of five. Raised in Taiwan by a pediatrician father and a nurse mother who often cared for patients unable to pay, she learned early that medicine was about people first. After immigrating to the United States, growing up in Ohio, and studying at Cornell, her career took her through oncology before she found her calling in limb preservation through podiatry. Then her own path changed. Following a serious car accident, spinal cord injury, and surgical delays during COVID, Dr. Chen was left partially paralyzed, bringing her career as a practicing podiatrist to an unexpected end. At the same time, she was navigating her own journey with type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and a heart catheterization. Rather than stepping away from care, Dr. Chen changed how she serves. With the encouragement of her endocrinologist, Dr. Manasses, she retrained as a certified diabetes educator, bringing together clinical training and lived experience to help patients better understand how daily choices impact circulation, wound healing, and long-term health. Today, Dr. Chen works with people living with diabetes and peripheral artery disease, and she also contributes to national efforts through the American Heart Association PAD Collaborative, supporting initiatives to improve PAD awareness, diagnosis, and care across the country. This conversation explores what happens when medicine becomes personal, how purpose can evolve without being lost, and why early recognition of PAD and diabetes complications is critical to preventing limb loss. If you or someone you love has diabetes, leg pain, wounds, or trouble walking, don't wait. PAD Leg Saver Hotline: 1-833-PAD-LEGS Learn more: https://www.PADhelp.org Join the PAD Facebook Support Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/peripheralarterydisease Early action saves limbs and lives.

What happens when living with chronic disease leads you to an unexpected calling? On this episode of The Heart of Innovation, cohosts Kym McNicholas and Dr. John Phillips sit down with Rob, founder of PAD Life Outdoors, who shares his powerful and deeply human journey of living with Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD) — a condition caused by poor circulation in the legs — while also navigating life after aortic stenting for an abdominal aortic aneurysm. Along the way, Rob discovered something surprising. As his beard grew, a pair of spectacles appeared, and strangers began calling him Santa — he realized that spreading joy, hope, and holiday cheer gave him something medicine alone never could. This spring, Rob is taking that calling one step further by enrolling in Santa Claus School to become fully certified. In this heartfelt conversation, Rob opens up about: Living with the physical and emotional weight of PAD Recovering from major vascular disease and intervention How purpose and joy can help quiet the daily burden of chronic illness Why becoming Santa has helped him focus on what he can do — not what PAD has taken away This episode is a reminder that even in the face of debilitating disease, meaning, connection, and joy still matter — and they can be powerful medicine. 📞 Need support or guidance right now? PAD Leg Saver Hotline: 1-833-PAD-LEGS 🌐 Trusted patient resources: https://padhelp.org https://thewaytomyheart.org 👥 Join our patient community: https://padsupportgroup.org (Facebook Support Group) Hashtags (search-optimized): #TheHeartOfInnovation #PeripheralArteryDisease #PAD #PADLife #VascularHealth #ChronicIllness #PatientStories #SantaClaus #HolidayJoy #FindingPurpose #AorticAneurysm #HeartHealth #LivingWithPAD #PatientAdvocacy #HealthPodcast #HopeAndHealing

🎶 What happens when a vascular surgeon decides to walk away from practice… to pursue music? This week on The Heart of Innovation, Dr. John Phillips and I sit down with a surgeon whose passion for rhythm has always been intertwined with healing — and now he's daring to follow that rhythm into a whole new career. Our guest is not just a gifted clinician. He's a songwriter, producer, and vascular surgeon at Oregon Health & Science University, currently earning his Master's in Songwriting at Berklee College of Music. And yes — he's officially taking the leap into music full-time. Why now? What did he discover in the OR, at the bedside, and in his own creative process that made this moment the right one? He shares: 🎵 How music unexpectedly deepened his relationships with patients 🎵 Why rhythm matters more in vascular care than you might think 🎵 The parallels between restoring blood flow… and writing a song that moves people 🎵 What he's learned about courage, identity, and choosing a path that truly aligns with your purpose This episode is heartfelt, surprising, and full of wisdom for anyone standing at a crossroads — in medicine, in creativity, or in life. 👉 Don't miss this one. It's a rare look at what it really means to heal… and be human. Listen on KDOW, our podcast platforms, or watch the full episode on YouTube. Leg Saver Hotline: 1-877-FIX-LEGZ Learn more: PADHelp.org | TheWayToMyHeart.org #TheHeartOfInnovation #VascularSurgery #PeripheralArteryDisease #PADAwareness #MusicHeals #Songwriting #BerkleeCollegeOfMusic #CareerJourney #PhysicianStories #HealingThroughMusic #InnovationInMedicine #LegSaverHotline #KymMcNicholas #DrJohnPhillips