50.0°,
Fog/Mist A heartfelt day at the Nassau University Medical Center
Hospital opens new heart center, recognizes Go Red for Women Day
Last May, medical professionals celebrated the story of Anne Marie Ballato, who delivered her newborn daughter at the Nassau University Medical Center despite fighting a potentially deadly form of heart disease.
Last week, Ballato, of Levittown, was back at the NUMC campus in East Meadow with now 9-month-old Izabella and her oldest daughter, Jaqlynne. As she thanked Dr. Sanjay Doddamani, the chief of cardiology who led her treatment, Ballato said that more than two lives were saved during that special delivery last year.
“Unfortunately, my 13-year-old daughter has now been diagnosed,” said Ballato, whose mother, grandmother and aunt died from heart disease. “None of us would have known without Dr. Doddamani.”
Ballato, who suffers from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, said that Jaqlynne can no longer go on rides or take part in strenuous activities. She had planned to celebrate her birthday at an amusement park, but had to reconsider. “Her birthday party could have been the death of her if we hadn’t had her heart checked,” Ballato said.
Ballato was invited to participate in the hospital’s recognition of the America Heart Association’s Go Red for Women Day, as well as the grand opening of the Heart Failure and Arrhythmia Center at the NUMC on Feb. 4. The NUMC, the A. Holly Patterson Extended Care facility and several community health centers on the South Shore are operated by the NuHealth Corporation.
Diane McCloud, a candidate for a heart transplant, also appeared at the event. McCloud, of Hempstead, who was serving a sentence at the Nassau County Correctional Center in East Meadow for petit larceny, was released by a judge in January, with the assistance of her attorney and on the medical advice of Doddamani. She was diagnosed with a fatal heart condition, and was one of the first patients to be helped by the hospital’s new center.
McCloud and Dr. Steven Walerstein, the facility’s executive vice president for medical affairs and medical director, cut the ribbon at the center’s ceremonial opening.
