Do you know someone who had a heart valve replacement (or 2, 3, or 4)? I know many folks from my time as a minister who did. Each reported that the surgery was so invasive and the recovery painful. One person I know never fully recovered.

Well, someone smart and wonderful invented a non-invasive procedure for heart valve replacement: TAVR. It is perfect for folks who are too high risk for open-heart surgery. TAVR is much like inserting a stent. The doc goes up through a groin artery and puts a new valve right inside the old one. It props up the old valve, but functions on its own. City Hospital in Akron, OH has done the procedure for only 2 years.

My 87- year old mom had TAVR yesterday. Her aortic valve was narrowing, and she might have lived to the end of the year. Thanks to this proceedure, she could live up to 5 years longer. But it’s not just lengthening her life, it is improving the quality as well. She was sitting around without any energy, full of fluid from congestive heart failure. She will have lots more pep now and hopes to be mobile again. Thanks to Dr. McDreamy. He is a fine cardiologist and quite personable. And soooo handsome!

Dr. Peter Bittenbender

We arrived at the hospital at 7 AM. After the prep and setting up the anesthesia, the actual valve insertion took 1 hour. By 1:15 she was in her hospital room, awake and talking. She felt great! She ate dinner and, by 7 PM, I was walking with her and a tech, down the hall. This morning, she walked around the whole unit, down the hall, and past the nurse’s station. She is doing so well, the docs may release her TOMORROW. That makes 2 1/2 days for a valve replacement.

Truly amazing! Truly miraculous. I am so thankful for modern medical science.