Clotcast: Season 2 Episode 5

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Life after a PAD Diagnosis

Mr. Gerald Cooper, a patient with PAD (peripheral artery disease), joins Dr. Lee Kirksey and Debra Kohlman-Trigoboff, NP for a chat about:

  • Navigating life after being diagnosed with a chronic illness
  • What a PAD care team looks like
  • Managing mental health and physical health after a PAD diagnosis

Moderator: Lee Kirksey MD, MBA
Special Guests: Debra Kohlman-Trigoboff, NP and Gerald Cooper

View Podcast S2E5 Show Notes

View all Clotcast Episodes:

Dr. Lee Kirksey is a board-certified vascular surgeon. He joined the Department of Vascular Surgery in the Sydell and Arnold Miller Heart, Vascular, and Thoracic Institute at The Cleveland Clinic in 2011. Dr. Kirksey holds the Walter W. Buckley Endowed Vice Chairman position and is the Chief Equity and Community Engagement Officer at the Cleveland Clinic.

Dr. Kirksey’s clinical areas of interest include minimally invasive and hybrid approaches to complex vascular disease. His research areas include the investigation of solutions that address healthcare disparities in underserved and minority groups and the delivery of value-based population healthcare. He is co-author of the book Your Guide to Optimal Health, which, contrary to his clinical practice as a surgeon, details an evidence-based prescription for a healthy lifestyle and disease prevention. He resides in Solon, Ohio with his wife Seema, and two sons Shyar and Nikash. 

Debra Kohlman-Trigoboff is a retired acute care nurse practitioner (NP) who recently worked at the Duke Heart and Vascular Center at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, NC. She worked for over 19 years in cardiology, caring for cardiovascular patients. She previously worked for 13 years in vascular surgery at the Washington Hospital Center in D.C., where she was the NP and clinical coordinator for the Center for Vascular Disease. 

Debra holds a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of San Diego and a Master’s Degree from the University of Maryland, where she also obtained her Acute Care NP certificate. She has published numerous articles and participated in research studies involving cardiovascular patients. She is an active member of the Society for Vascular Nursing (SVN), serving as President and a member of the Board of Directors for several years. She has worked for several years on the PAD task force of the American Heart Association (AHA), helping to create the PAD National Action Plan that was released in May 2022.

Gerald Cooper is a 67-year-old semi-retired property manager, self-employed for the past 25 years or so. Before that, he drove a tractor-trailer in his younger days, until his uncontrolled blood pressure took his CDL away. Gerald is married with four grandkids living in Vermont.

Gerald first really noticed PAD symptoms climbing stairs. He would get halfway up and then have to stop and wait for the blood to return to his calves. He’s had several procedures now and the difference is like night and day. He even went to New York City for a weekend and got around just fine. Gerald enjoys his work so much that he considers it a hobby.

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