Naples Heart Rhythm Specialists (NHRS), P.A., is a medical practice that provides the highest quality cardiac care from a team of physicians and staff who combine extensive training with compassion for each patient. They believe in connecting with each patient, learning about your concerns, and helping each patient with customized treatments that help them live a longer, healthier life. NHRS is dedicated to making exceptional cardiovascular care convenient, operating in two offices in Naples, Florida, and offers state-of-the-art diagnostic technology that sets them apart from other heart specialists.

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Naples Heart Rhythm Specialists’ (NHRS) medical practice has joined Haute MD and boy, did they steal our hearts! The team of physicians, including Dr. Ryan Houk, MD, and staff members, provide the highest quality cardiac care by combining extensive training and compassion for each patient that walks through their doors. Taking a look inside the practice, Haute Beauty sat down with our Haute MD expert Dr. Houk of NHRS, to learn more about what fills his heart and how the NHRS continues to provide comprehensive cardiology services year-round.

My greatest achievement:

My greatest professional achievements have come recently from being named the Director of Nuclear Imaging at Naples Heart Rhythm Specialists to being nominated and voted top 3 in the Best of Naples Cardiologists category in the past 2 years.

Personally, my family is my greatest achievement! I’m married to a wonderful wife who is also a physician, and we have 3 beautiful kids, with a 4th child on the way. 

What is the future of your field?

Non-invasive diagnostic testing like cardiac PET and minimally invasive cardiac interventions like TAVR, mitral clips, and PCI. 

What is the biggest misconception about your field?

People tend not to understand how common cardiovascular disease is, when in fact, it’s the number one cause of death. 

My most requested procedures:

Cardiac PET stress tests, which are the most accurate, non-invasive nuclear imaging test of the heart and only take 30 minutes to complete.

What surgical advancements are you most excited about?

TAVR, mitral clips, and watchman devices.

What are you best known for?

In addition to the great patient care I provide for my patients and that Naples Heart Rhythm Specialists give all around, I must say that I am best known for: 

• Good old-fashioned medicine
• Personalized medicine, with attention to each patient’s unique story
• Personally calling my patients with their results and explaining them to them directly 
• Seeing my patients in the hospital, should they need to be hospitalized
• Spending quality time with patients and not rushing through visits

What is your most memorable patient interaction?

My most memorable patient interactions are those where the patients are literally on death’s door with severe heart failure, needing advanced cardiac therapies like heart transplants to survive, who with my help, get the treatment they need, and come back to me with a new lease on life. 

What sets your practice apart?

Cutting-edge technology with Cardiac PET, which can put your mind at ease by determining that you won’t have a life-threatening heart attack any time soon. Not only is it the most accurate nuclear imaging test out there, it is the test with the lowest radiation exposure compared to a conventional nuclear stress test, a coronary CT scan, or a cardiac catheterization. Although we use whichever modalities are best for you and your care, having direct access to this new technology is something that sets Naples Heart Rhythm Specialists apart. Additionally, when you come to NHRS you have access to world-renowned academic centers through long-standing personal connections. We have cardiologists with the highest levels of training, who are board certified and uniquely specialized in what we do. We pride ourselves in patient-centered care, focused on quality as opposed to quantity. 

What do you love most about your profession?

I love helping people get better. Getting people’s heart function back to normal helps improve a patient’s quality of life forever. 

What is your career-defining procedure?

Cardiac PET.

What new services are you excited to offer?

Cardiac PET.