Rose Felice was nearing the end of her days.
The 87-year-old woman's diseased heart needed a new valve, but doctors feared that her frail body couldn't handle the ravages of open-heart surgery.
Then the cardiac team at Murray's Intermountain Medical Center (IMC) called with a proposal.
On May 15, Felice became the first patient in the Intermountain West to have a heart valve replaced through a catheter inserted in her leg.
Doctors say the significantly less invasive process, now in a clinical trial at IMC and 14 other hospitals in North America and Europe, promises to reduce the risks and costs associated with valve-replacement surgery for about a quarter-million people each year.
In the days before Felice's surgery, the blood flow through her body had become so restricted that she couldn't take more than a few steps without having to stop to rest. "I couldn't take a breath -- couldn't get any breath at all," she said.
Cardiologist Brian Whisenant, the lead researcher for IMC's part of the trial, said Felice was "in her last hours." He commended her decision to agree to the procedure and praised her desire "to pave a new road and make this technology available for other patients."
Even if Felice had survived traditional surgery, she would have been facing a recovery time of up to several months.
Sitting next to her doctors on Monday -- two weeks after her surgery -- and looking resplendent in a turquoise blouse, matching jewelry and a broad smile, the Helper woman said she is now walking four blocks a day and can once again care for herself.
"I'm living again," she said. "Thanks to these gentlemen, these doctors and their helpers and everyone. I thank everyone because they brought me back to life."
Whisenant believes that many more lives will be saved in the future. The new procedure won't be used for everyone with heart valve problems -- those with weak arterial vessels might not be candidates, for instance. One common side effect is vessels broken as the new valve is threaded through.
However, Whisenant said the technique would likely be available for most patients. He expects the trial to last another two years, with a rapid implementation of the new technique in subsequent years.
How the new heart valve replacement technique works:
» The new heart valve is mounted and crimped onto a unique balloon delivery catheter.
» It is then inserted into the femoral artery in the leg or between the ribs through the apex of the heart.
» Once in the heart, the valve is positioned and deployed across the patient's diseased aortic valve.
Source: Intermountain Medical Center
