Dr. Hugh Grosvenor Calkins, MD

Hugh Calkins was my worst nightmare. He will tell you whatever is necessary to get you to sign the consent form. Being at the teaching hospital makes Hugh very confused about who gets his first consideration, Is it his obligation to provide hands-on experiences for his 'fellows'? or is his first obligation to provide the absolute best and safest care of his patient? Well, apparently Hugh Calkin feels that his #1 obligation is to his students. Forgetting about The Hippocratic Oath that he must have taken, (first do no harm) he allowed his E.P. fellows to perform the ablation on me while he leaned against the wall in his coat and tie (not scrubbed in). The 'fellow' turned the catheter the wrong way allowing it to enter my left ventricle where it became entangled in papillary muscle. They could not extract the catheter. Long story short, they gave a good strong yank and severed a papillary muscle. When I awakened from my terrifying twilight sleep, they explained what had… happened (except Calkins revised his pronouns to I, me rather than implicating himself and one of his fellows). That would be 'lack of informed consent. This he did instead of telling me that someone other than himself had been at the veritable wheel. I refused open-heart surgery to repair the valve until they told me that if I didn't do it, now, that I would die. I consented. During surgery, I had an embolic stroke from an air bubble from the bypass machine. I was in a coma for 2 weeks and on life support. I have been disabled since that time. You can't sue JHH. You will never win regardless of an abundance of evidence. Hopkins video-tapes all procedures but they told my attorney that the film was lost. So life has been very tough. Remember, his fellows come 1st and he will tell you whatever it takes to get you to sign on the line. Thanks again Hugh Calkins for the excellent care that you took of me.

There is a reason Dr. Calkins is world renowned. He performed a procedure on my father five years ago to free him from a-fib. The procedure was flawless and the care he provided was top notch. My father still brags about his experience with Dr. Calkins to this day. Despite being a top cardiologist in the world, Dr. Calkins is incredibly down to earth and deeply cares about his patient. I reached out to him about a different issue for my father, Dr. Calkins followed through and recommended one of his colleagues. I have dealt with many cardiologists for my father over the year, Dr. Calkins is simply the BEST!!

Dr. Calkins is one of the most impressive physicians I have ever had. His communication skills are extraordinary. I am always able to reach him by phone, email or text and receive a prompt reply. He is at the top of his field and at the top of his game.

Through Dr. Brian Garibaldi, my mom was connected with Dr. Calkins for a consult. After 10 months of declining health and multiple visits to the cardiology specialists in her home state, my mom received the care and attention she has needed - and frankly deserved. Dr. Calkins was professional, thorough, sensitive to mom's travel time, efficient and, above all, kind. He made sure she received the appropriate tests and followed up with her via phone and email. We have been to Hopkins twice now for consultations and have found that the trip completely worthwhile. And please note, we flew over several states with fine medical programs to get there. As Dr. Calkins told us at the end of mom's visit, "just start with us next time." Don't worry!! We will!!!

Atrial Fibrillation can be a life altering experience. Dr. Calkins has given me back the quality of life that I was beginning to forget. I was right-on when researching for the best electro-cardiologist for my condition. Forever indebted.

I am three years post treatment with Dr Calkins. With a series of Rf ablation procedures he cured a seemingly intractable a fib and flutter condition that was debilitating. He was attentive, responsive to my needs and questions and reassuring. More important, he was committed to “getting it right” and that is what he did. Have a big problem with your heart? Get the best.

Dr. Hugh Caulkins changed my life. He has ablated me twice - in 2002 and in 2006. My a-fib is now under control with the use of medicine to augment the operations. In the past 16 years, Dr. Caulkins has repeated shown to me his care and concern and his humanity and professionalism and basic decency. For my 2006 procedure, the JHU scheduling office screwed up. This was not Dr. Caulkins' fault. He personally reschedule and built the team to do the procedure the next day when there were no surgeries scheduled. On that team - several of the department heads at JMU. Now, I have had a terrible fall and desperately need the attention of a world class neurosurgeon. Dr. Caulkins made his colleagues aware of my situation and they have fit me into their very busy schedules. You can't place a value on that level of commitment to his patients. Thank you Dr. Caulkins. And your team is awesome as well!

Dr. Calkins and his staff took excellent care of me during my time at Johns Hopkins. They were all very kind and thoughtful, Intelligent and responded to all my questions and concerns.

Dr Caulkins is an outstanding example of what we all yearn for in modern day medicine. He will spend whatever time you need to be informed about your condition and to educate you on your options and to help make the best decision for your care. My experience with him included him sending me a 200+ page medical article which he chaired writing on my condition, Afib, and then answering many questions, and then doing my ablation at Johns Hopkins. It was by the grace of God and an “he is the best recommendation” from Dr Patrick Walsh that helped me become a patient of Dr Calkins. Best ever... my Afib is gone! Thank you Dr Calkins! Clay King

I was on vacation and realized my afib medication was running out in New Jersey.I emailed Dr.Calkins on a Sunday and he contacted the local CVS to provide a script for my needed drugs.This is only one example of his caring professional care given to me regarding my old heart.Thanks to Dr.Calkins all is working well now.Thanks!!!!