New Hampshire Hospitals Rated High For Heart Surgery

It might be surprising to you that one of the leading causes of death in New Hampshire and in the country, is heart disease. It's a scary fact for both men and women, but if you do have to have by-pass surgery for your heart, you sure do want a hospital with high rankings. After all, it is your one and only heart we're talking about here.

According to health.usnews.com, these three hospitals had "high performing ratings" for by-pass surgery here in New Hampshire:

Catholic Medical Center, Manchester, NH

US News said that CMC has been rated as high performing in 9 heart procedures for adults including aortic valve surgery, arrhythmia, heart failure and heart bypass surgery. They also report that 88% of patients at CMC are willing to recommend the hospital to others.

Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, NH

US News said that Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center was also rated as high performing in many procedures, including aortic valve surgery. 89% of their patients are willing to recommend the hospital to others.

Portsmouth Regional Hospital, Portsmouth, NH

This Seacoast of NH hospital is rated high performing not only for heart by-pass, but also hip replacements. 85% of Portsmouth Hospital patients would recommend it to others.

A Heart Issue at 20 Years Old? True Story

When I was 20 years old, I was sitting in my living room in my first apartment. I felt a weird pain in my left shoulder. Nothing too bad, but something I noticed. I was married to my first husband at the time and I told him about it. He said that I looked pale and we should head to the Emergency room. I didn't want to do it, but he was insistent, so off we went.

READ THIS: What I Felt Like Being On Air in NH on 9/11

As it turns out, I was diagnosed with pericarditis. It's a condition that happens when your pericardum, the sack that holds your heart, is swollen. It goes away with time, but it is somthing that sounds the alarm for medical professionals. Luckily, my heart is still happy and healthy to this day, but I will never forget how scary that was when they put me in ICU and told me it was my heart.