Maggie Teliska

Welcome to the Heart-Failure.net Meet Your Moderators series! These articles are intended to help our community members better know the people who moderate on our various channels. Heart failure plays...

The day after my heart attack, the attending cardiologist told me that my heart would recover, it would bounce back to a normal ejection fraction, and I'd be fine. But...

"I hate it when patients fixate on ejection fraction (EF)," I heard from a cardiologist on a clubhouse talk one night. Why do we worry about our EF, and why...

You've survived a heart attack, one that was most likely unexpected. Now what? You've spent days with a lot of medication attention, being constantly watched, tethered to wires connected to machines...

Editor's note: This is part 2 in a series. Be sure to read part 1! I wrote about surviving a fall down the stairs and a subsequent ER visit with...

Editor's note: This is part 1 of a series. Be sure to read part 2! Months ago, as I headed downstairs to my kitchen, I slipped on the last two...

In 10th grade biology, my teacher, Ms. L, made us read Latin and Greek word roots and their meaning every day to start the class. I didn't realize how helpful this...

I had an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) implanted almost six years ago to prevent fatal arrhythmias from turning into cardiac arrest. It wasn't an easy decision at first, but I am happy...

As a patient advocate, I meet a lot of newly diagnosed patients. Their experience, the fear, and the terror always bring me back to the day I received my heart failure...

I was prescribed a stress test a few months back by my cardiologist. At my last appointment, I complained about some chest pain similar to what I experienced the day before...

“My doctor told me I had to go to rehab.” “Why hasn’t my doctor offered rehab?” “What is rehab, and will it help me?” These are some of the things...

A few months back, the Heart Rhythm Society published an article demonstrating that the magnet in the iPhone 12 could disable the life-saving features of an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD).1 This finding...

I am on a ton of medications - medications to keep my heart beating slower and more effectively. Medications to keep my blood from clotting and to dilate my blood vessels. Medications...

The question that always plagues any survivor of a traumatic medical event or someone living with a chronic illness – when should I go to the ER?  Afraid to be...

Along with a slew of "not for prime time" words, I found myself using many new words to describe my heart attack, condition, and how I live post-diagnosis. A recent survey...

I remember back when I was first diagnosed with heart failure. I was shocked - in a jaw-dropping way - overwhelmed, and couldn't process information as quickly as I had been...

The inspiration for this article came from watching a rerun of Sex and the City, the one showing Carrie struggling for content, so she started writing about socks, comparing men...

I came home after a heart attack and heart failure diagnosis at the age of 42 — zero pills a day to over ten overnight. I was terrified to go...

Today (the day I'm writing this) is a significant milestone for me. Today marks the fifth anniversary of the day that changed my life forever. The day that is now...