Heart On The Move: John’s Way Forward

The exhilarating pull of a wakeboard on water. The uplifting rush after a run. These are feelings that John Nolan, 57, wasn’t sure if he’d ever be able to experience again after learning his heart was failing.

“When someone gets a diagnosis like that, it’s jarring,” he said. A resident of Post Mills, Vermont, John had always led an active life: hockey, skiing, and golf in high school, a daily five-mile run for more than a decade.

He has also been playing paddle tennis every Tuesday with a group of friends, all year round. A few years ago, one of those friends invited him to try wakeboarding, and it stuck.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, he learned he would need open-heart surgery. “I just didn't know what my life would look like afterwards,” he said. This is his story.

Image

A heart in trouble

John and his wife have been married 21 years, and both work in healthcare. His wife is an acute care nurse practitioner, and John works in the medical technology industry.

His team develops 3D surgical planning software for cardiologists and heart surgeons. John alone has viewed more than 250,000 CT and MRI heart scans. The irony of what happened to his own heart isn’t lost on him.

But his symptoms didn't immediately point to heart trouble. They were subtle, like tingling in his extremities, feeling tired, or occasional tightness in his chest. He knew something was wrong when he walked across a large parking lot and stopped more than once.

“My legs were giving out. I couldn't breathe. I knew something was very, very wrong,” he said.

John’s search for answers started in the fall of 2024, but it wasn’t until January 2025 that he met Aaron Kaplan, MD, a cardiologist at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC).

Kaplan, named Top Doctor by Castle Connolly in 2024 and 2025, is one of two individuals John credits with saving his life.

“He really listened to what I had to say,” John said. “He asked a lot of questions. He ordered the right tests.”

By the time John left the office, they had a good idea what was going on: John was in heart failure. His left ventricle was enlarged, three arteries were blocked, and there were two blood clots in the apex, or leftmost point of his heart—evidence of at least one silent heart attack.

“That brings me to the second person that I credit with saving my life,” John said. Henry Tannous, MD, chief of cardiac surgery, and John’s surgeon at DHMC.

After a few conversations with Tannous, he decided to move forward with open-heart surgery—more specifically, a triple coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) procedure. It was recommended not only to improve his quality of life, but also to extend it.

On April 16, 2025, John was wheeled into the operating room. “I was pretty scared going into it for sure,” he said. Before the operation, he took a moment to thank the surgical team. From behind him, he heard a voice say, “Yeah, man. We got you.”

“It made me feel calm,” John said. “I remember thinking, I would like to have a beer with this guy.” And then, the anesthesia kicked in.

A heart on the mend

“Still here.”

Those were the first words John texted to his friends as soon as he got his phone. He made it through surgery, but that was just part one.

After about a week in the hospital, John was sent home where his wife, Dream Chaser, took a role in his everyday care. “It was like having another doctor at home to help me understand what was going on.”

She, along with friends, colleagues, and family all formed a positive network that encouraged him. Coincidentally, three friends from his paddle tennis group were also cardiac patients at DHMC, and he leaned on them for support.

“They were able to provide not only advice, but real-life experiences to share,” he said. They had driven him to appointments and took care of his dogs.

“I was incredibly fortunate that I had a wonderful support group,” John said.

About a month later, he began a six-week cardiac rehabilitation program at DHMC in Lebanon, New Hampshire. There, he met nurse manager Kristen Frechette, RN, Hilary Scruggs, RN, and exercise specialist Katherine Chwasciak—the mighty team who run the program—and who played a major part in his recovery, physically and mentally.

Their care and knowledge stood out, John said. “And they were just always there with a kind word or a smile.”

The program, held in a group setting, helps patients build strength, share stories, and get back to doing what they love. For John, that was running. But there were worries in the back of his mind.

“Will the grafts they put in my heart hold?” he thought. “Will my heart blow up? Will it stop? I just didn't know. If you really push yourself, what's going to happen?”

He remembered what one of the doctors told him after his surgery: “You don't need to have a normal heart to have a normal life.” That resonated with John and also gave him hope.

Heart on the move

Around five weeks into the program, John gave jogging a try. Up until then, he’d only walked on the treadmill or used the stationary bike. This time was different. He only ran for about three or four minutes, but it was a turning point.

“I will never forget the first day I actually ran,” he said. It gave him the confidence to keep going, and to go a bit farther each time. “It was very emotional for me,” John said.

One foot in front of the other, he ran a little more each time, his heart holding strong. Now, six months later, he feels “absolutely fantastic.”

He is back to playing paddle tennis every Tuesday, back to running (3 miles for now), and back to feeling more like himself.

He is also back to wakeboarding with friends on the sparkling waters of the Connecticut River. “It's just wonderful to be out there… just a group of guys zooming around up and down the river, wakeboarding and enjoying the sunshine,” he said.

“I am incredibly fortunate that I live in a place where I can get world-class medical care in the middle of the countryside,” he said.

John’s friends, dogs, and wife are all there for him, too. “I feel very optimistic that there are a lot more wonderful days ahead,” he said. And he is grateful.