b'Innovative TechnologyHas Patient Feeling Like NewFor more than a year, Marie had been putting offheart surgery. Her leaky aortic valve made her tiredand short of breath. Left untreated, she would verylikely suffer a heart attack.The thought of open-heart surgery held her back but not out of fear for her own well-being. As the primary caregiver for her husband, who suffered permanent disability from stroke, she needed to be strong and at her best.The aortic valve is the front door of your heart, explains David Rizik, MD, chief, complex interventionalIn this procedure, the J-Valve is delivered via cardiology (above and below left). Every drop ofcatheter through the leg. Once in place, the patch blood in your body has to go through the aortic valve.is clipped over the leaky valve. The procedure Maries aortic valve could not close tightly, allowingrequires four hands in perfect coordination. Dr. blood to leak backward into the left ventricle with eachRizik was joined by Dr. Robert Riley, chief, complex heartbeat, a condition called aortic regurgitation. Thecardiovascular surgery (below, right).condition forces the heart to work harder to pumpShe trusted us, says Dr. Rizik admiringly. Marie blood with every beat, leading to an enlarged heart andwas one of the first in the country to undergo this eventually, heart failure.procedure and one of only a handful in the world.Previously, the only treatment for aortic regurgitationAnd Marie is so glad she did. was open-heart surgery. But Dr. Rizik had been studying a non-surgical, catheter-based technique toI was out of the hospital in less than two days and treat patients like Marie, who are not good surgicalback home with no pain. In just a couple of months, candidates for open heart surgery. The experimentalI was back to running three miles every morning,J-Valve seemed to be the perfect option.no more shortness of breath. It was a miracle!10 HonorHealth Foundation'