When Hannatu Alford came to New York City from Ghana 10 years ago, it was with her family, some clothes and a heart condition she didn’t know she had. But in 2011 the condition worsened to the point where it sent her to the Emergency Department with her heart “pounding morning to evening, morning to evening, morning to evening for more than a week,” and dizziness when she was walking.

Doctors at HHC Jacobi Hospital Center, near where the 58-year-old Home Health Aide lived in the Bronx, diagnosed her with Atrial Fibrillation (AFib or AF). AFib, according to the American Heart Association, is a quivering or irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia) that can lead to blood clots, stroke, heart failure and other heart-related complications.

Alford was transferred to HHC Bellevue Hospital Center’s Cardiology Service where she was quickly monitored, her medical therapy was optimized and the irregular rhythms that were causing her discomfort were mapped in an Electrophysiology (EP) study in the EP Lab. An Atrial Fibrillation Ablation procedure performed by David Park, M.D., F.A.C.C., Director of the EP Lab at HHC Bellevue Hospital Center and his team, gave Alford the relief she needed.

Along the way, Alford bonded with the cardiology service Nurse Practitioner, Nafija Musovic, who helped Alford get on Medicaid, provided expert advice and explanations about her healthcare, and encouraged her to take additional steps to improve her health.

One of those steps was getting bariatric surgery to reduce the strain on Alford’s heart and ease the high blood sugar issues she was experiencing. Alford had the weight loss procedure last year and she has already lost nearly 70 pounds. The effect on her cardiovascular system and overall health is apparent.

Now at a more appropriate weight for her 5’5” frame, Alford continues to lose the pounds. She is feeling and looking great, and singing the praises of the care at Bellevue to anyone who will listen—from a lady on the bus, to her family members, to the people back in Africa in the village where she grew up, many of whom also struggle with health issues related to obesity.

It doesn’t matter that she travels all the way from the Bronx for her medical appointments at Bellevue. Alford wouldn’t have it any other way. “Everybody is good here: the nurses are good; the doctors are good, everyone is good. I am happy. I’m happy I’m in Bellevue. I’m very, very happy. I love Bellevue.”