How a valve replacement helped Steve breathe easy again

When Steve first started feeling under-the-weather and breathless, he didn’t think his heart had anything to do with it. 

“My symptoms started in December 2023. I was really breathless and couldn’t do anything. Just having a shower would leave me gasping for breath” Steve recalls. 

“I would describe myself as relatively active, probably not as active as I should be, but this wasn’t something I’d experienced before.”

After a few days of feeling unwell, 66-year-old Steve decided to visit his GP, and was diagnosed with a chest infection. After three nights in his local hospital receiving treatment, he was feeling better and went home. But when his symptoms returned, Steve decided it was time to contact his private medical insurer and get an expert opinion. 

“My brother and I took out private medical insurance over 20 years ago. Working for ourselves, we couldn’t afford to take time off” Steve says. “But this was the first time I’d ever used it. Eventually it had come in handy!”

After contacting his private medical insurer, Steve was referred to Professor Sagar Doshi at HCA Healthcare UK’s The Harborne Hospital to find out what was causing his symptoms.

Getting a diagnosis

“When I first arrived at The Harborne Hospital, I was feeling very sorry for myself” Steve says. After months of feeling ill, he just wanted to be back to his normal life.

An echocardiogram (heart scan) showed that his breathlessness was due to aortic stenosis, where that valve controlling the flow of blood leaving the heart becomes narrowed. This meant that less blood was able to flow through the valve, reducing the blood flow to the rest of Steve’s body and causing his breathlessness and lack of energy.

Severe aortic stenosis affects around 1.5% of the population aged 55 and over in the UK, and is fatal if left untreated.

“Aortic stenosis wasn’t something I’d ever heard of before” says Steve. “But Professor Doshi explained everything about it. Any questions I had, he was able to answer them.”

What causes aortic stenosis is unclear. Until recently, the only treatment available was full open-heart surgery to replace the valve with a mechanical or biological valve. Open heart surgery is a big operation involving major surgery under general anaesthetic and around a week-long stay in hospital. However, Steve learned that a ‘key-hole’ treatment called TAVI (transcatheter aortic valve implantation) would be the best treatment for him.

Minimally-invasive, maximum benefits

Until recently open-heart surgery was the only way to treat aortic stenosis. But not everyone is suitable for open-heart surgery.

“Professor Doshi discussed my case with heart surgeons and due to my particular set of circumstances decided open-heart surgery would have been too dangerous for me,” Steve explains “so instead, I was offered a TAVI procedure.”

TAVI is a minimally-invasive alternative to open heart surgery that can be performed under local anaesthetic through a ‘keyhole’ puncture. A small tube (catheter) is passed through through small puncture in the leg and up into the aortic valve. Using the catheter, a new valve is put inside the heart, and is then expanded to replace the old valve. 

After hearing the risks of open-heart surgery, Steve was relieved to be offered the option of having a minimally-invasive procedure. “I was scared to death of having open-heart surgery” says Steve, “so I was very relieved I could have TAVI.”

Seeking reassurance

Once Steve’s treatment option was decided, his TAVI was booked in for a few weeks later. Still a little nervous, he arrived at The Harborne Hospital the evening before his procedure. But with the reassurance of the staff at The Harborne Hospital, Steve could put his worries behind him.

“From the receptionist, to the nurses, to the TAVI team, everyone was faultless and helped put me at ease.”

The thought of a major cardiac operation can be worrying, and understanding the complexities of a new treatment can be tricky, with lots of jargon and medical terminology. Not being someone who’d visit the doctor that often, Steve was initially really nervous about having the TAVI. 

“I usually tried to avoid doctors and hospitals as much as I could, so I was pretty worried” Steve explains. “However, Professor Doshi’s bedside manner and the way he explains everything is very reassuring. Any questions I had, he’d answer them. He was straight to the point and very caring.”

Like someone had flicked a switch

Steve’s TAVI was performed under sedation without the need for general anaesthesia and went smoothly, taking just over an hour. Open heart surgery, in contrast, typically takes four hours in theatre and a week-long stay in hospital, or longer. It can often need up to six months of recovery and rehabilitation, but after having his TAVI, Steve was able to leave hospital the day after his procedure. 

“At first, I was feeling a little sore, but the day afterwards I was up and about and ready to go, no problem!”

Steve felt the benefits of his TAVI immediately, and was ready to get back to his normal life quickly. “The best way I can describe it is like someone flicking a switch” says Steve. “From not being able to do anything to feeling so much better, I can’t explain it – the difference was amazing!” 

A step up in health

Over the following weeks, Steve was able to return to his job of running a local minibus company and noticed a huge difference in his health. “I was back at work and going up and down the stairs with no problems, when before I was virtually dragging myself up them!”

And with the benefits of TAVI, Steve is back to being active and enjoying being able to do what he wants once again. “My breathing is excellent at the moment” Steve explains. “I’m walking five- or six-thousand steps a day no problem! It’s life changing, it really is.”

Steve’s looking forward to enjoying life again, booking a holiday and revisiting his hobby of fishing. He’s also having regular check-ins with Professor Doshi to make sure that he’s recovering well, both over the phone and in-person. “He told me to just drop him a line every two or three months or so, just to make sure everything is alright.”

Steve is incredibly grateful for Professor Doshi and the whole team at The Harborne Hospital for his surgery, the care he received and how his TAVI has improved his quality of life. “I don’t think I could have wished for a better chap to be doing it to be honest”, Steve says of Professor Doshi.

And Steve’s parting advice to anyone also suffering from aortic stenosis? “Get a TAVI done. And if you can, get it from Professor Doshi!”