Stories

At the very height of the COVID-19 outbreak, retired postman and hospital worker, Lewis Benn, was awaiting treatment for severe aortic stenosis. Having been told he would have to wait till September, Lewis feared for his life, but thanks to the excellent work of Dr Dan Blackman and the team at Leeds General Infirmary, Lewis was admitted, treated and discharged over the course of just 3 days.

83-year-old retired office worker, Jessie Moss, was treated for severe aortic stenosis at the very height of the COVID-19 outbreak. Thanks to Professor Newby and the team in Edinburgh, and with the help of minimally invasive treatment, Jessie was able to receive the treatment she urgently required, and can now focus on her recovery and getting back out on the bowls green.

Dental Surgeon, Ian Wintrip, was diagnosed with severe heart valve disease (aortic stenosis) late last year. A keen cyclist, Ian had noticed he was running out of steam early on the bike, but put it down to signs of ageing and learned to live with the new capabilities. Eventually, though, he knew something was up and went to see his GP.

Roger Black was diagnosed with an unidentified murmur whilst at school. Now, after a career which saw him win Silver Medals at the Olympics and Gold medals at The World Championships, Roger is beginning to think more about his heart valve disease story.

Since retiring proud grandad of nine Rob Turner has been an avid explorer of the UK and an intrepid traveller of Europe. Rob had heart a heart murmur over ten years ago during a routine GP check.

Daniel Colgan was first diagnosed as a teenager with heart valve disease. The disease was discovered by accident when he was in hospital for an unrelated sport injury. Fast forward a decade and after being asymptomatic for most of his life. Suddenly Daniel started to experience new symptoms and went down hill dramatically.

David Blair believed he was at the top of his health when he got diagnosed with heart valve disease. He had simply put his symptoms down to getting older. Whilst training to complete the difficult cycle from Lands End to John O’Groats in ten days. David attended a routine check up at his GP in the summer of 2018 just and was diagnosed with aortic stenosis. Now a year on, David is back on the bike with a new energy and ready to complete the challenge of cycling across the UK.

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.