The Heart of Innovation with Kym McNicholas

On this episode of The Heart of Innovation, we sit down with Dr. Jean Chen, a diabetes educator and retired podiatrist whose lifelong commitment to medicine was shaped by service, resilience, and lived experience. Dr. Chen knew she wanted to be a doctor by the age of five. Raised in Taiwan by a pediatrician father and a nurse mother who often cared for patients unable to pay, she learned early tha...

What if the most powerful New Year's resolution for your heart and leg health wasn't extreme—just consistent? On this episode of The Heart of Innovation , Interventional Cardiologist Dr. John Phillips and Global PAD Association CEO Kym McNicholas talk about simple, realistic daily habits that can add up to meaningful improvements in circulation, vascular health, and quality of life, especially for...

What happens when living with chronic disease leads you to an unexpected calling? On this episode of The Heart of Innovation, cohosts Kym McNicholas and Dr. John Phillips sit down with Rob, founder of PAD Life Outdoors, who shares his powerful and deeply human journey of living with Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD) — a condition caused by poor circulation in the legs — while also navigating life af...

Travel should be memorable for the right reasons — not stressful health surprises. In this upcoming episode of The Heart of Innovation, cohosts Kym McNicholas and Dr. John Phillips dive into why planning ahead is critical when you're traveling with Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD), cardiovascular disease, mobility challenges, or strict dietary needs. 📍 Broadcasting live from a Princess Cruise ship...

🎶 What happens when a vascular surgeon decides to walk away from practice… to pursue music? This week on The Heart of Innovation, Dr. John Phillips and I sit down with a surgeon whose passion for rhythm has always been intertwined with healing — and now he's daring to follow that rhythm into a whole new career. Our guest is not just a gifted clinician. He's a songwriter, producer, and vascular su...

This week on The Heart of Innovation, hosts Kym McNicholas and Dr. John Phillips sit down for a powerful, patient-driven holiday special—one that reveals what people living with Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD) truly wish for this season. PAD is more common than prostate, breast, and colon cancer combined, yet still misunderstood. Our in-studio audience opened up about the physical and emotional to...

Every leg saved has a story behind it — and this week on The Heart of Innovation, you'll meet the nurse practitioners who live those stories every day. Kym McNicholas and Dr. John Phillips chat with four remarkable OhioHealth NPs — Chelsea Jones, Elizabeth Murray, Brittany Byce, and Rebecca Lawler — to share what it's really like to help patients fight peripheral artery disease (PAD) and critical...

This week on The Heart of Innovation , we bring you a true story of grit, muscle, and unwavering determination. Meet Deputy John Dent—20 years on the road in West Virginia law enforcement, a body built for durability, and a diagnosis that threatened it all: peripheral artery disease (PAD). He was the guy who'd outrun everyone in the academy at 275 lbs. He was the guy strides ahead of his peers. Th...

This week, we're featuring someone whose impact on veterans' health spans nearly two decades — John Wordin, a visionary who has transformed how our nation supports wounded warriors, trauma survivors, and veterans living with diabetes, PTSD, and mobility challenges. Wordin's work has been nothing short of groundbreaking. He created Ride 2 Recovery (now Project Hero), helped build more than 300 cust...

In this week's episode, hosts Kym McNicholas and Interventional Cardiologist present Jimontanae "Jae" McBride with the Global PAD Association's PAD Family Advocate of the Year Award through the Global PAD Impact Awards. This award recognizes Jae's exceptional advocacy journey that began with saving her mother's limbs from amputation. When faced with limited options for her mother's PAD wound care,...

During this episode, The Global PAD Association recognizes Spectrum Antimicrobials as the recipient of the 2025-26 Breakthrough in CLI Wound Care Award! Their stabilized HOCl-based formula has proven transformative for patients with critical limb ischemia whose wounds refused to heal—even after blood flow was restored. Through science grounded in compassion, Spectrum Antimicrobials has demonstrate...

In this episode of  The Heart of Innovation , host Kym McNicholas sits down with Dr. Sid Rao, one of the nation’s pioneers in transarterial embolization (TAE) — a minimally invasive procedure offering new hope for patients with osteoarthritis. Dr. Rao explains how TAE targets abnormal blood vessels that drive chronic inflammation in the joints, sparing healthy tissue while reducing pain and improv...

When Coach Prime, Deion Sanders, left a recent Colorado game in pain from another blood clot, headlines focused on his toes and his comeback. But few understood what his story actually exposes: the difference between arterial and venous clots — and why that distinction can mean the difference between life, limb, and legacy. On this week’s  Heart of Innovation , I sat down with Dr. Esteban Henao of...

This week on The Heart of Innovation, our Save My Piggies series features a powerful story of courage, compassion, and cutting-edge care. Meet Benny, a Dallas patient who nearly lost his leg to advanced Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD) — and the physician who helped him reclaim his life. Dr. Marc Salhanick, a vascular specialist in Dallas, shares how a minimally invasive procedure using a new, retr...

Join hosts Kym McNicholas and Dr. John Phillips as they go LIVE from Vascular Solutions of North Carolina's 1st Annual Multidisciplinary Conference with Patient Pro Marketing CEO Justin Lesh. Discover how interventional specialists and orthopedic doctors are collaborating to offer groundbreaking minimally invasive treatments for knee, foot, hand, and shoulder osteoarthritis. Learn about new pain r...

Join us THIS SATURDAY, September 27th, on "The Heart of Innovation" as we honor Dr. Sara Rose-Sauld, DPM, of MGH, Boston, MA with our U.S. PAD Podiatrist of the Year Award! Hosts Kym McNicholas and Dr. John Phillips, along with special guest world-renowned Podiatrist Dr. David Alper, will interview Dr. Rose-Sauld about her extraordinary contributions to PAD care. Selected by patients themselves, D...

Congratulations to the exceptional Kaiser Permanente vascular research team in Northern California led by Dr. Gaurav Sharma and Dr. Robert Chang for receiving this prestigious honor as “Walking As Therapy Research Team of the Year” through the Global PAD Impact Awards, presented by the Global PAD Association! Walking As Therapy Research Team members Dr. Robert Chang, Dr. Gaurav Sharma, Dr. Joy Gar...

Join us for an interview with Dr. Grigorios Korosoglou, our 2025 Global PAD Interventional Angiologist of the Year, on the Heart of Innovation Radio Show! 📆 Date: Saturday, September 13th 🕚 Times: 11:00 AM Pacific Time 2:00 PM Eastern Time 8:00 PM Central European Time Hosted by: Global PAD Association CEO Kym McNicholas Interventional Cardiologist Dr. John Phillips Discover: -Dr. Korosoglou’s a...

On this episode of The Heart of Innovation, we are continuing we are joining the Global PAD Association in honoring a pioneer in treatment for a disease more prevalent and deadlier than most cancers combined. It's Peripheral Artery Disease, poor circulation in the legs that if left undiagnosed and untreated early can lead to amputation.  We are presenting the “Lifetime Achievement Award” in PAD ca...

In this episode of The Heart of Innovation with hosts Kym McNicholas and Dr. John Phillips, we are kicking off PAD Awareness Month to raise awareness of peripheral artery disease (PAD), a disease more prevalent and deadlier than most cancers combined. Leg pain, leg cramps, and neuropathy are all indications of poor circulation that could signal PAD. We begin our celebration with the first of 40 Gl...

Don't miss this week's "Heart of Innovation" podcast as hosts Kym McNicholas (Global PAD Association CEO) and Dr. John Phillips (Interventional Cardiologist) welcome an extraordinary guest - Dr. Kevin Morgan (PhD)! At 82, Dr. Morgan isn't just surviving with Peripheral Artery Disease—he's THRIVING as a competitive triathlete, recently placing 3rd in his age group at the 2023 World Ironman Champion...

In this episode, host Kym McNicholas and guest co-host Dr. Michael "Misha" Ginsburg" entertain a discussion on innovative treatments for hand and wrist osteoarthritis, featuring both embolization and orthopedic perspectives. Dr. Yuji Okuno, founder of the Okuno Clinic and pioneer of the “Okuno Method,” will share insights on his groundbreaking approach to treating osteoarthritis pain. Since first...

Blood Work Decoded: Understanding the "Why" Behind Heart Disease and PAD Saturday LIVE on "The Heart of Innovation," Global PAD Association CEO Kym McNicholas and Dr. John Phillips welcome vascular surgeon Dr. Lily Johnston from Scripps La Jolla in California to discuss the root causes of peripheral artery disease and heart conditions. Dr. Johnston brings her extensive background (Princeton, Mayo...

Ever wonder what it’s like to search the ENTIRE country for the right doctor while dealing with excruciating leg pain and diabetes that won’t quit? Our guest Pat is sharing his wild journey finding help for his advanced Peripheral Artery Disease and Type 2 Diabetes. Pat was determined not to let PAD stop him from traveling and living life on his terms. He’ll reveal how the Global PAD Association’s...

Hosts Kym McNicholas and Dr. John Phillips talks with world renowned diabetes reversal and vascular expert Dr. Michael Dansinger about a connection most men never consider - what sperm health reveals about heart disease risk and risk of other chronic illnesses Turns out male reproductive issues might be your body's early warning system for cardiovascular problems as well as other chronic health is...