My Story
The milestones and turning points of a cardiovascular journey that became a career.
Read the storyPatient Speaker — Cardiovascular
Miller
Kaapke
A lifelong heart patient sharing a story of resilience with the people who make cardiovascular care possible.
FDA clinical trials
Biventricular (Bi-V) pacing
Congestive heart failure
About Miller
Born with a broken heart. Built to keep going.
I was born with a congenital heart condition, hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy, and had my first two surgeries as a young child. At 11 I went into cardiac arrest. I came back with my first pacemaker and a diagnosis of congestive heart failure that I’ve lived with ever since.
Seven more surgeries followed, along with two more cardiac arrests, four collapsed lungs and years in severe heart failure as a young adult. Getting to the procedure that finally fixed my heart took years, and every step depended on me following through: the research, the calls and appointments, the records and seeing the insurance approval through. With my doctors guiding me, I kept moving each piece forward until I received the new device that brought my heart back to normal function.
Through all of it I’ve been a bodybuilder for 12 years, and today I’m lifting more than ever. I share that story with medtech teams, clinicians and audiences who need to see what it looks like to keep going. I’m based in Mesa, Arizona.
- 10
- Surgeries
- 3
- Cardiac arrests survived
- 12
- Years bodybuilding
- Lifelong
- Congenital heart patient
Why companies bring me in
Your device works. The question is whether the patient on the other side of it is understood.
I’ve lived with the devices, trials and procedures your teams work on for nearly three decades. I bring that patient perspective, honestly and firsthand, to engineers, clinicians and full rooms alike.
What I do
01
Speak to teams and audiences, from small groups to full auditoriums.
02
Consult across medtech company departments, from R&D to marketing and everything in between.
03
Guide technicians and electrophysiologists, closing the gap between clinicians and their patients.
04
Teach, train and inspire, both internally within organizations and externally at public events.
Who I work with
Medtech companies
From R&D and clinical affairs through to marketing, as a consultant and as the face of the work.
Hospitals & clinical teams
Education for technicians and electrophysiologists on the patient side of the procedure.
Conference organizers
Keynotes and panels for programs that need a patient voice an industry audience will trust.
Explore
Strength
Twelve years of bodybuilding, through every surgery and setback.
See the photosSpeaking
My keynote, the topics I cover and the formats I offer.
See speakingServices & Expertise
Speaking, training, consulting, clinician education and patient advocacy.
Services & contactThe patient voice your team can put on any stage.
Book Miller