Where Discovery Creates Hope: A Monthly Series

Heart disease? No way, thought 74-year-old Brad Peterson.

The Eden Prairie man not only ate a healthy diet, he wrote an award-winning book about it.

He exercised regularly, too, an active member of a club where he loved playing pickleball.

To top it off, he felt perfectly fine, but then, thinking of his family history, he wonders: “Was I in denial?”

When a second and third opinion confirmed the diagnosis, Brad searched for a doctor to perform open-heart surgery.

He chose one of the best in Dr. Ranjit John, recently named to head the University of Minnesota’s celebrated cardiothoracic division.

Says Brad: “Dr. John took the time to put me at ease with the procedure. He even invited me back to talk some more.”

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