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An 86-year-old woman from Sioux City, Iowa, became the first person in Nebraska to undergo a new minimally invasive heart valve replacement procedure. “I’m just not ready to go,” Barbara Sykes told KETV. She said she had a heart attack a few years ago while traveling. “I didn’t think I was going to make it,” she said.Nebraska Medicine’s Dr. Marvin Eng, chief of interventional cardiology, said many people don’t realize the severity of their valve disease until they are pushed to exert themselves, like when they’re traveling.After the heart attack, doctors found a valve that needed to be replaced. It was leaky and didn’t open well, Eng told KETV.”It made her short of breath,” he said. But Sykes was at high risk for open-heart surgery. Eng says it was a “much less preferred” option.”The alternative would’ve been just treating with medicines and kind of watching her,” Eng told KETV, “especially if no one’s willing to offer surgery.”Sykes said she was taking heart medicine.”They told me it wouldn’t last,” she said. Eng, who came to Nebraska Medicine last fall, opted for a different approach: a procedure called transcatheter mitral valve replacement. Eng had done the procedure before in clinical trials, but it had never been done in Nebraska.In early May, Sykes became the first person in Nebraska to undergo the procedure, which was Food and Drug Administration-approved in December last year for patients at high risk for open heart surgery. “I’ve had a lot of faith in my doctors, so I wasn’t afraid,” Sykes said. Doctors inserted the valve, an M3 in this case, Eng said, through a blood vessel starting in the groin area. As a less-invasive procedure, it usually has a much shorter recovery time than open-heart surgery. “The surgery itself was nothing,” Sykes said, jokingly. “I guess I’d recommend it to anybody.” Eng encouraged people experiencing shortness of breath or chest discomfort to seek medical attention, noting that there are more options available now. “I think since the surgery that I could go another 10 years easy,” Sykes said.Make sure you can always see the latest news, weather, sports and more from KETV NewsWatch 7 on Google search.NAVIGATE: Home | Weather | Local News | National | Sports | Newscasts on demand |
An 86-year-old woman from Sioux City, Iowa, became the first person in Nebraska to undergo a new minimally invasive heart valve replacement procedure.
“I’m just not ready to go,” Barbara Sykes told KETV. She said she had a heart attack a few years ago while traveling.
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“I didn’t think I was going to make it,” she said.
Nebraska Medicine’s Dr. Marvin Eng, chief of interventional cardiology, said many people don’t realize the severity of their valve disease until they are pushed to exert themselves, like when they’re traveling.
After the heart attack, doctors found a valve that needed to be replaced. It was leaky and didn’t open well, Eng told KETV.
“It made her short of breath,” he said.
But Sykes was at high risk for open-heart surgery. Eng says it was a “much less preferred” option.
“The alternative would’ve been just treating with medicines and kind of watching her,” Eng told KETV, “especially if no one’s willing to offer surgery.”
Sykes said she was taking heart medicine.
“They told me it wouldn’t last,” she said.
Eng, who came to Nebraska Medicine last fall, opted for a different approach: a procedure called transcatheter mitral valve replacement. Eng had done the procedure before in clinical trials, but it had never been done in Nebraska.
In early May, Sykes became the first person in Nebraska to undergo the procedure, which was Food and Drug Administration-approved in December last year for patients at high risk for open heart surgery.
“I’ve had a lot of faith in my doctors, so I wasn’t afraid,” Sykes said.
Doctors inserted the valve, an M3 in this case, Eng said, through a blood vessel starting in the groin area. As a less-invasive procedure, it usually has a much shorter recovery time than open-heart surgery.
“The surgery itself was nothing,” Sykes said, jokingly. “I guess I’d recommend it to anybody.”
Eng encouraged people experiencing shortness of breath or chest discomfort to seek medical attention, noting that there are more options available now.
“I think since the surgery that I could go another 10 years easy,” Sykes said.
Make sure you can always see the latest news, weather, sports and more from KETV NewsWatch 7 on Google search.
NAVIGATE: Home | Weather | Local News | National | Sports | Newscasts on demand |
