M.D. Mustafa Ertuğrul Mercan

My 8-year-old daughter, Elif, was diagnosed with a rare congenital heart defect called an anomalous coronary artery. Multiple doctors told us it was just anxiety. Dr. Mercan spent an entire afternoon reviewing her echo himself, not just the report, and noticed the subtle abnormality others missed. He explained it to us using a 3D model on his tablet, drawing the blood flow with his finger. His coordination with pediatric cardiac surgery was seamless. Two years post-op, Elif is climbing trees. He didn't just treat a heart; he gave a child her childhood back.

I'm a 72-year-old retired engineer with a complex medical history: two stents, atrial fibrillation, and renal impairment. My case is a balancing act. During a routine checkup, Dr. Mercan noticed a slight change in my ECG that I felt was nothing. He insisted on a short-term monitor, which caught silent episodes of VTach. He personally called my nephrologist to co-design a new medication plan that protected both my heart and kidneys. He doesn't practice cookbook cardiology; he engineers a solution for the whole system. His follow-up calls feel like a colleague checking in, not just a doctor.

It was 3 AM, and I was rushed to Acibadem Atakent with crushing chest pain. Dr. Mercan was the on-call cardiologist. What struck me wasn't just the speed of the STEMI activation (door-to-balloon time was 22 minutes!), but his calm. In the cath lab, he talked me through every step over the noise of the machines. 'Mr. Ahmet, we're going to open the door now. You'll feel a warm sensation.' Post-procedure, he showed me the angiogram images on his phone, pointing to the 'culprit lesion' he'd stented. He made a terrifying emergency feel like a guided, technical repair.

I visited for what I thought was a simple stress test due to family history. Dr. Mercan's approach was uniquely investigative. Instead of just running the test, he asked about my lifestyle as an amateur marathon runner. He analyzed my running watch data, correlating heart rate zones with my symptoms. He diagnosed exercise-induced arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy, a condition often missed in athletes. His recommendation wasn't just to stop running, but to design a new, safer training regimen with specific intensity limits. He treated me as an athlete first, a patient second. A year later, I'm still running, but smarter and safer under his guidance.