Health & Fitness
NJ Veteran Thrives After Heart Transplant
Since Dr. Jesus Almendral took over his heart care, Joe has been thriving despite his heart failure diagnosis.
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Joe Johnson felt immense respect and gratitude as he held his own heart, reflecting on its journey through two military tours, a long career as a police officer, and an illness that ultimately necessitated a transplant. In the late 1980s, while serving in the Navy, Joe developed a mysterious rash that led to the discovery of suspicious lung nodules, forecasting future organ dysfunction. At 22, Joe felt invincible and unbothered by the prediction.
Twenty years later, Joe's health took a turn when he developed bronchitis and pneumonia in one winter. Tests revealed sarcoidosis in his lungs, a condition likely caused by chemical exposures during his military service. The disease eventually affected his heart muscle, reducing its efficiency.
For years, medications managed Joe's heart failure until cardiologist Jesus Almendral, M.D., took over his care. Dr. Almendral, now the medical director of the Advanced Heart Failure Program at Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center, significantly changed Joe’s treatment path, leading to his heart transplant.
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