John Hatanelas, D.O.

Dr. Hatanelas grew up in the windy city of Cheyenne Wyoming. He spends most of his free time with his wife exploring the Black Hills or relaxing at home. He loves rock climbing and surfing when he and his wife are able to visit their favorite coastal areas. Dr. Hatanelas also enjoys assisting his wife in the kitchen as she prepares their vegan meals —he’s sure that he only ends up complicating things, but she allows him to stay around. He feels blessed that his career is also his passion, and as a result, his love for reading is translated into his patient discussions. Like any field, when it is explored in its finest detail, it can become confusing, he therefore finds it fulfilling to take these complicated issues and express them in ways that are meaningful to patients. He has found that when patients understand the pathologic consequence of their choices, it is more likely that they will implement the lifestyle choices needed to combat their illness.

Dr. Hatanelas feels that becoming a physician was a way for him to integrate his fervor for learning with his desire to connect with people. He says that discussing a person’s care with them and being a resource for them on their journey to a healthier life is gratifying beyond measure. This is in part why he has pursued noninvasive cardiology with emphasis on cardiac imaging and disease prevention. Having completed his Lipidology boards, he felt his understanding of why and how cardiovascular disease develops from both genetic and lifestyle choices became more apparent, as did his scope of the medical therapies to help manage disease.

Eager to expand his knowledge, Dr. Hatanelas has grown increasingly interested in disease prevention without the use of medications. Cardiovascular medications certainly have a role, however, as he continues in his practice, he is realizing more and more that they are often only a “band-aid” for deeply engrained, poor lifestyle choices. This is why he became a physician.