Mended Hearts

Mended Hearts of Oak Ridge is Chapter 299 of Mended Hearts, Inc. (MHI). MHI is a national nonprofit organization affiliated with the American Heart Association (AHA) that has been offering the gift of hope to heart disease patients, their families and caregivers for almost 60 years. Our mission is to “inspire hope in heart disease patients and their families.”

The regular meetings of Mended Hearts of Oak Ridge are open to all patients with heart disease, their spouses, family, friends and interested individuals. We cordially invite you to visit our meetings and enjoy the interesting and timely speakers and the camaraderie and support of caring people who are knowledgeable about heart disease.

I joined Mended Hearts in March. Needless to say, I went through quite an ordeal at Christmas with my quadruple bypass surgery. If not for Joe, Beth and Natalie, I don't know if I could have made it through the pain before, during and after the surgery. Recovery is a slow process and will certainly test every nerve in your being. Many of you in our family know this first hand.

I'm now editor of the Mended Hearts newsletter for our chapter in Oak Ridge. I'm also a volunteer at Methodist Medical Center and I visit heart patients and their families before and after surgery to try to help them through the process. I decided to take this path, one because the company I worked for closed their doors two weeks after my surgery and that leaves me plenty of time on my hands while looking for a job. Two...heart disease has hit home more than once in my family and three.... it's my way of giving back...

Since heart disease is prevalent in our family, I've decided to post articles I share with Mended Hearts patients here in my blog. Just think of it as "looking out for my loved ones".

I am a firm believer that God places angels on earth because I meet with a room full of them at noon every third Wednesday of every month.

Here's a sample of information to come:


Ask Dr. Lori Mosca
Symptoms of a Heart Attack

Q: My husband and I were arguing the other night about the symptoms of a heart attack. He says heart attacks cause chest pain, but I've heard that women don't always have chest pain with a heart attack. Am I right that symptoms differ for men and women?

– Mae, Burlington


A: The good news is, you're both right! There are many signs and symptoms of heart attack. These include chest pain (frequently called angina), light-headedness, fainting, inability to sleep, sweating, abdominal pain, neck or jaw pain, back pain, arm pain, nausea or vomiting, indigestion or reflux, palpitations, shortness of breath, and unexplained fatigue. However, symptoms can differ for men and women.

Many women experience the less common symptoms, including inability to sleep, nausea, fatigue, dizziness, back and jaw pain, and headache. In addition, there is a wide range of severity for symptoms. Many people have heart attacks and do not know it because they have had no symptoms or mild to moderate symptoms that they associated with some other problem (such as asthma or indigestion).