April 30. By Dave Vieser. The experts said I need a valve job. Up until recently, such a comment meant that a dependable mechanic needed to fix the family jalopy.

But not any more. A valve job these days more often refers to valves in the heart and the role of the mechanic has been replaced by a specially trained team of cardiologists.

VIESER

Here’s my valve job story.

The first hint that something was amiss occurred during various routine medical exams. To a person, every doctor and nurse would comment about the murmur they heard through the stethoscope. It seemed strange to me as I had none of the normal symptoms associated with heart problems, such as shortage of breath or chest pain.

I asked if there was anything to do at that time, and they suggested seeing a cardiologist. This led me to Atrium and eventually the Sanger Heart and Vascular Institute. They set up a regular cycle of EKG and stress tests every six months. Even though the tests did show some decrease in the blood flow through the aortic valve, the lack of symptoms suggested that we proceed with careful monitoring but not a valve replacement.

That all changed in January of this year when my cardiologist went over the most recent EKG. “It’s time for a valve replacement Mr. Vieser,” he said. “The stenosis has gotten worse and even without symptoms, you cannot take the chance of having a fatal heart attack.”

Indeed, the echocardiogram tests showed a significant increase in a problem known as severe aortic stenosis.

The cure for this condition at one time was open heart surgery, but now it’s more frequently addressed through a procedure known as Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement—TAVR.

The actual process takes just over an hour, and the patient is put to sleep. “Dave, we’re going to start injecting some medicine in your arm,” said the OR team at Sanger Institute in Concord on April 1.

“You will begin to feel some warmth in the arm, and shortly thereafter you will go to sleep.” Really I thought? I sure hope this works because I had no interest in being awake while they ran wires from my groin up into my heart.

But it worked perfectly and the next thing I knew, they were calling my name to wake me up and let me know the one-hour procedure was over and all went well.

My anxious wife and daughter got the good news quickly, and from there it was a one-day recovery.

I really feel good post-op—more energy, less fatigue.

So why write this? To tell readers not to hesitate getting this procedure. It’s a tremendous improvement over having open heart surgery, and while there are some risk factors, they are minor in comparison.

I had a really wonderful team of doctors and nurses at Sanger in Concord. They explained in detail what was happening.

Through the magic of modern medicine we are all living longer, which means more time to address issues with the heart. TAVR is a major step forward.

Writer Dave Vieser and Gloria Vieser live in the Harborside community on West Catawba.