Wednesday 28th August 2019
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.
Wednesday 14th August 2019
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!
Thursday 20th June 2019
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.
Friday 8th March 2019
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.
Tuesday 26th February 2019
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.
Friday 22nd February 2019
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 first story is from Ady, an NHS psychotherapist and sword fighting enthusiast who was diagnosed with mitral valve regurgitation.
Tuesday 27th November 2018
There is almost nothing that Penny Minney hasn’t done in her 84 years. The former Classics teacher is an avid traveller, author, has sailed the high seas, is an active philanthropist and a lover of swimming, hiking and climbing, not to mention she’s a devoted wife, mother and grandmother. However, she has not accomplished all of this without a few bumps in the road including two mitral valve replacements. But thanks to her treatments, Penny is back to living her full life as she always has - full of energy!
Wednesday 25th July 2018
Mark Blatchly, Deputy Head Teacher and amateur athlete, lived a well-balanced, varied life with a healthy mix of career, family and marathon kayaking, until a shock discovery threatened to capsize everything. After decades of teaching others, he found himself learning the biggest lessons of his life: how to survive a terminal cancer prognosis, then heart valve disease.