At Stony Brook Heart Institute, our high quality of care standards translate to giving our patients the best outcome, recovery and quality of life. Here are a few stories of our patients who received specialized heart care at the Heart Institute.
The last thing fitness buff and avid runner Scott Mandia, then 55, had on his health radar was heart disease. But, as Scott would soon learn, that was all about to change. Read more.
Surprises can be pleasant or unsettling. Marie and Robert Baffa experienced the second kind, when Marie received an unexpected double diagnosis of severe aortic stenosis and lung cancer. With help from Stony Brook Medicine, the Baffas navigated all the twists and turns of Marie’s journey back to health. Read more.
To look at Blue Point resident and custom builder Jack Brady, Sr., you’d think the guy had never been sick a day in his life. For Jack, a second opinion led to a second chance. Read more.
Anthony Martinez is a can-do guy, an ex-Marine who raised a family and started his own successful businesses. But when multiple health conditions meant he was not eligible for catheterization to clear his blocked coronary arteries, the situation didn’t look good. Read more.
On a routine neighborhood walk, Jodi had experienced a burning sensation at the base of her throat. While it got her attention, the tingly feeling wasn’t painful and quickly passed, and figuring it was indigestion or something, Jodi shrugged it off. She thought she was fine. Read more.

It was at this time that Jodi first heard the words familial hypercholesterolemia or, more simply, FH, a genetic disorder that results in a dangerous buildup of LDL or "bad" cholesterol.