Patient Stories
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Timothy Powell – 10 Years On (Out of 150)
In 2014, Timothy Powell was treated for mitral valve disease after being diagnosed at a routine health check. As Timothy approaches the 10-year anniversary of his surgery, he reflects on his post-treatment journey. You may be wondering about the title of my article, which is intended to cover my experience in the (nearly) ten years since I underwent mitral valve repair at Papworth Hospital in 2014. It refers to something mentioned by one of the doctors, to the effect that the Gore-tex put into my heart to replace the chordae tendineae (colloquially, the “heart strings”) has a useful life of about [...]
Dave Swanton’s Mitral Valve Disease Story
Dave Swanton was first diagnosed with heart valve disease in 2018. Fast-forward to 2020, and Dave's condition had deteriorated. Due to the pressures of Covid, he was told he would need to wait for surgery, but was advised to seek medical help immediately if his symptoms change - which is exactly what he did. Thanks to the work by the incredible teams in Chorley, Preston and Blackpool, Dave is now back home and relishing the new lease of life he has be afforded. This is his story: "I was first taken in in March 2018. I was having a cup [...]
Angie Martin: my second open-heart surgery story
Angie's valve disease story started when she was a small girl after she was born with a hole in her heart. Fast forward 40 years and Angie's leaky valve began to deteriorate. After being told she needed an operation, a pandemic stopped the world in its tracks. However, despite the pressures on the health service, thanks to the brilliant work of the team at Harefield, Angie was able to receive her life-saving treatment. This is her story: “My valve disease story started when I was a child, as I actually found out it was leaking when I had open-heart surgery [...]
Steve McCabe MP: My mitral repair story
Birmingham MP, Steve McCabe was diagnosed with heart valve disease twelve years ago. As with many heart valve disease patients he had not experienced any obvious symptoms. His GP detected a heart murmur during a routine check-up. It came as a bit of a shock as he was fit and healthy. He later underwent treatment at Queen Elizabeth Hospital. “If not treated it can be very serious. It is vital that people are better educated on the condition and are aware of the symptoms, particularly those that aren’t so obvious like feeling tired to ensure more lives are saved. As someone who [...]
Lisa Condley: My Endocarditis Story
During March of 2017 Lisa was receiving physiotherapy for her Achilles Tendinitis and started experiencing symptoms of joint pains in her elbow and knees. The physiotherapist suggested that she go to her GP for a check up. Blood works were done and an inflammation was noted however nothing was done about it. The symptoms of joint pain were having an impact on Lisa’s job as a cleaner and a small task of walking to the bus stop was becoming more difficult. Due to the persistences of the symptoms, more tests were conducted in May. She was referred to a rheumatologist [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
