The Heart Behind Local Heart Care

PARIS —Heart problems can make everything else stop.

Whether it is chest pain that will not go away, a racing heartbeat, high blood pressure or another concern, patients often find themselves asking the same question: What happens next?

Teresa Fowler, a nurse practitioner with West Tennessee Medical Group Cardiology, helps patients in Paris and Martin answer that question while receiving heart care closer to home.

Fowler evaluates patients experiencing chest pain, heart palpitations, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and other heart-related concerns. She can order testing, review results, provide cardiac clearances before surgery and follow patients after hospital stays, procedures and other treatments while working closely with the West Tennessee Medical Group Cardiology team.

Appointments are often available sooner than patients may expect, allowing evaluation and testing to begin without lengthy delays.

“I see people who are worried and simply don’t know what their next step should be,” Fowler said. “Sometimes they just need someone to listen, answer their questions and help them understand what’s happening.”

For Fowler, serving patients in West Tennessee is also personal. Raised in Camden, Fowler comes from a family that has called the area home for more than 175 years. Her family’s century farm has remained part of the community for generations. “I always wanted to be closer to home so I could serve people in my community,” Fowler said.

She understands how easily people in small communities can place their own health behind work, family responsibilities and everyday life. Some patients may also delay seeking care because of fear or concerns about traveling long distances to see a specialist. Fowler hopes having cardiology services available locally can remove some of those barriers.

After earning her nursing degree from the University of Tennessee at Martin, Fowler earned her doctorate in nursing practice from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis. She later gained experience in emergency medicine and working alongside cardiothoracic surgeons.

Those experiences prepared her to care for patients with complex heart conditions while also recognizing the anxiety that often accompanies them.

“Heart problems are scary,” Fowler said. “Whether the testing shows everything is okay or we find something that needs attention, I want patients to understand what’s happening and know what comes next.”

Fowler said some patients initially may be uncertain about seeing a nurse practitioner, but earning their trust has become one of the most rewarding parts of her work.

“My favorite thing is when I walk into a room and they’re unsure at first,” she said. “Then I leave and they’re saying, ‘I want to see you again.’”

Fowler said she approaches each patient encounter with a simple philosophy: Treat patients the way she would want members of her own family treated.

Outside the clinic, Fowler spends time on her family farm, riding horses and enjoying the outdoors — reminders of why returning home was important to her.

For Fowler, providing heart care in Paris and Martin means more than treating a medical condition. It means listening, answering questions and helping neighbors understand they do not have to navigate heart concerns alone.

For a hometown provider whose family has called West Tennessee home for generations, caring for the people of the region is simply another way to #BeTheGood.

— Amanda Smiles, West Tennessee Healthcare Media Relations