Patient Stories
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We remember Colin Bell who passed away on 30th October 2018
Today, we launch European Heart Valve Disease Awareness Week and our message is clear, if we increase awareness of symptoms and detect the disease early, the quality of life and treatment outcomes are very good. However sadly many people across the UK don’t get the treatment in time. Today we also remember those who unfortunately did not get the life saving treatment that so many others do. One amazing man is Colin Bell who passed away on 30th October 2018 (aged 38) who lived in a town called East Kilbride. Colin died suddenly on his morning commute to work with [...]
Alan Holmes: My Mechanical Valve Story
It was during a company health check in 2000 that Alan discovered he had a heart murmur. After being told it wasn’t serious it was left alone until 2010 when Alan started to receive an annual ECG (echocardiogram) to check on the progress of the disease. Due to his leaky valves, this resulted in Alan’s heart becoming enlarged which could only be resolved through surgery. In 2016, Alan underwent open heart surgery and received a mechanical valve for both his mitral and aortic valve. After being told in 2000 that a heart murmur was detected it wasn’t until 2010 that [...]
Bridie Lilleker’s Heart Valve Disease Story
Three years ago, there was a black cloud over Christmas when Bridie Lilleker (33) was told that ‘under no circumstances’ could she try for a baby due to the extreme pressure it would put on her heart. Just eight weeks previously, she’d been diagnosed with severe mitral valve regurgitation, and the day before Christmas Eve she saw her surgeon. Her keyhole operation went ahead in January 2016 and this past Christmas (2018) was the best ever because they were able to celebrate it with baby Darcie! Bridie, a primary school teacher, was only six years old when she was first [...]
Nicola Doherty’s Heart Valve Disease Story
Nicola Doherty, a working mother of a young son, was unaware of any issues with her heart. After a visit to the doctor’s office for what she thought was a simple chest infection, a stethoscope exam revealed that she had a heart murmur. At the age of 45, she was eventually diagnosed with severe aortic stenosis and received an aortic valve replacement. Nicola had not experienced any of the tell tale symptoms of heart valve disease such as breathlessness and chest pains and had no idea that there was something wrong with her heart. Nicola and her husband James spent [...]
Victor Hyman Heart Valve Disease Story
Victor Hyman was completely unaware of his heart valve disease. Whilst on holiday in Turkey in 1994, he was visited by a local doctor for an upset stomach. While his stomach was fine, he was surprised to find out in fact he had a problem with his heart as the doctor had detected a murmur after listening to his heart with a stethoscope. Victor was later treated for mitral regurgitation, but while the disease never caused him any inconvenience, it was a later bout of endocarditis that made Victor realise things were more serious than they seemed. Victor had been working [...]
Norma Brickle’s Heart Valve Disease
Norma Brickle was diagnosed in 2001 with a massive aortic aneurysm which had also distorted her aortic valve. A replacement valve was inserted as part of the aneurysm repair, which was done by open heart surgery. Norma was told she would likely need a replacement valve in the future, with the hope that a procedure would be available that could access the valve through an artery rather than through further open heart surgery. Seventeen years later Norma required a new aortic valve, and luckily technology had advanced in her favour and she was able to receive her new valve via [...]
David Eaton’s Heart Valve Disease Story
When David Eaton’s life and career were suddenly placed in jeopardy by a mystery illness and painful headaches, he never thought that his heart might be the cause. Unknown to him, his aortic valve had been under stealthy attack from bacteria, caused by a condition called endocarditis. An injury sustained thirty years ago to his lower jaw was most probably to blame and as a result of the infection David underwent an aortic valve replacement. Since working for the iconic Vogue magazine as a young man, David Eaton (63) has made a career out of the design and production of [...]
Alison Banayoti’s Heart Valve Disease Story
Days before being admitted to St Thomas’ Hospital in London, Alison Banayoti was walking her dogs as she does everyday and thinking about her impending surgery. Fourteen years after being diagnosed with aortic and bicuspid heart valve disease, she was finally getting the treatment that she had been waiting to receive. In 2005, at the age of 45, Alison was diagnosed with heart valve disease after she experienced what she referred to as a “funny turn.” At the time she was a busy mum chasing after a toddler and was worried when she began to experience what can only be [...]
UK Mini Mitral Trial: Brian’s Heart Valve Disease Story
Over the next few weeks, in support of the South Tees Hospital NHS Foundation Trust UK Mini Mitral Trial, a multi-centre randomised control trial on Minimally invasive thoracoscopically-guided right minithoracotomy versus conventional sternotomy for mitral valve repair, we will be sharing a number of patients stories from patients who have been involved in the trial. The third story comes from Brian, a former soldier who was happy to be participating in the trial. Former soldier Brian was diagnosed with mitral valve disease in 2016 and was excited to be given the opportunity to take part in the UK Mini Mitral [...]
UK Mini Mitral Trial: Mary’s Heart Valve Disease Story
Over the next few weeks, in support of the South Tees Hospital NHS Foundation Trust UK Mini Mitral Trial, a multi-centre randomised control trial on Minimally invasive thoracoscopically-guided right minithoracotomy versus conventional sternotomy for mitral valve repair, we will be sharing a number of patients stories from patients who have been involved in the trial. The second story comes from Mary, who after years of monitoring for her mitral valve disease, was ready for treatment and offered an opportunity to be part of the trial. Two years ago, after being under surveillance by cardiologists for fifteen years, Mary was admitted to [...]
