Melissa Stein, MSN, APRN, FNP-BC
Melissa Stein, MSN, APRN, FNP-BC, is a Family Nurse Practitioner specializing in cardiology at Health First Medical Group in Melbourne, Florida. With a strong foundation in critical care nursing and advanced practice medicine, she provides care across several cardiology clinics, including congestive heart failure, cardio-oncology, lipid management, general cardiology, and a specialized clinic for patients with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS). Stein is board-certified through both the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), and she brings a patient-centered approach to managing complex cardiovascular and autonomic conditions.
Stein began her nursing career after completing an accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing at Texas Woman’s University in 2012. She then spent more than a decade working in intensive care at Yale New Haven Health in Connecticut, where she cared for critically ill surgical, trauma, and cardiothoracic patients in ICU and post-anesthesia care settings. Those years at the bedside shaped her perspective on healthcare and reinforced the importance of prevention and early intervention. Motivated by that experience, she pursued her Master of Science in Nursing at Sacred Heart University, graduating as a Family Nurse Practitioner in 2023 and earning the Outstanding Capstone Award for her work on diabetes management and telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Now practicing in cardiology, Stein has found a particular passion for treating autonomic dysfunction, especially POTS. Working alongside Dr. Polanco at Health First Medical Group, she has helped develop one of the only clinics in Brevard County dedicated to treating the condition, now caring for approximately 800 POTS patients in addition to thousands of cardiology patients. Many of these individuals—often young adults whose symptoms emerged after COVID—had previously struggled to receive validation for their condition. Fluent in both Spanish and English, Stein is committed to inclusive and compassionate care, proudly supporting diverse patient populations. She is also an active member of professional organizations including the American College of Cardiology and the National Lipid Association, and she hopes to contribute to the education of future healthcare providers through adjunct teaching opportunities.
• FNP-BC
• FNP-C
• ACLS
• BLS
• Outstanding Capstone Award
• Sacred Heart University
• 2023
• Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society
• Sigma Theta Tau International
• AANP
• ANCC
• National Lipid Association
• American College of Cardiology
Areas of Specialization/Expertise
- Cardiology
- Autonomic Dysfunction (POTS)
- 12 years in ICU (surgical
- trauma
- and cardiothoracic)
What do you enjoy most about practicing medicine?
I find a lot of satisfaction in helping my POTS patients because they're very young, often in their 20s, who got COVID and now use a walker and have all these heart issues when they were fine just 5 years ago. These patients are finally finding validation for their symptoms that everyone tells them they're anxious, or they're crazy, or it's in their head. It's been very rewarding to be able to help these patients who just needed someone to believe them and understand what they're going through. A lot of autonomic dysfunction we've seen is linked to COVID, and patients come from all over Florida to see Dr. Polanco and me for POTS. What's interesting is that it all grew through word of mouth because the patients tell each other about us, even though we don't advertise and it's not even on our website.