![]() ![]() He explained what was going on and what they were going to do.” Reda had a whole team and I never had that before. The surgery would be long and difficult, but after Reda laid it all out, Kathy was ready to get started. Additionally, the tricuspid valve inside Kathy’s heart – the valve that sits between the right atrium and right ventricle – was leaking and would have to be repaired. Reda and his team would recreate her aortic root using a valve from an animal inside a tube graft made from a material called Hemashield. The procedure in question is called a Bentall procedure. Her options were to either not do anything and send her to palliative care, or to try a very high-risk procedure.” “We looked at other options, such as putting a valve within the tightened prosthetic aortic valve to help restore flow and improve her ejection fraction,” said Reda. Her prior heart surgery and other health conditions meant that any surgery was going to be very risky. Repeated episodes of heart failure led to a severe reduction of her cardiac function. ![]() In a healthy heart, that percentage is around 60%. Ejection fraction, the amount of blood that is pumped from the heart with each heartbeat, is measured as a percentage. The aortic valve that had been replaced 10 years before was dangerously narrow to the point where the blood flow from the heart to the rest of the body was severely reduced – a condition called aortic valve stenosis. “But when they told me they wanted me in the hospital right then and there, I knew I was due for another heart surgery.”Īccording to her surgeon Hassan Reda, M.D., with the UK Gill Heart & Vascular Institute, this wasn’t something that could be put off or rescheduled. ![]() “I was really trying to ignore the signs and symptoms,” said Kathy. When she was admitted for surgery right away, Kathy finally admitted to herself that something serious was happening. Kathy’s mother noticed the symptoms and insisted that Kathy go to the emergency department at the University of Kentucky Albert B. I could hardly walk a block or up a flight of stairs without being tired.” “My feet stayed swollen, and I was really tired all the time. “I knew that I was going to have another open-heart surgery, but I was just hoping and praying I wouldn’t,” said Kathy. But it was just easier not to think about it. Even though she is in recovery and is no longer using drugs, Kathy was told at the time that she would eventually need to have another surgery. She had open-heart surgery in 2012 to replace an infected heart valve. Years of substance misuse took a toll on her heart. The Danville native had already had her share of health issues. 3, 2023) - Kathy Warren didn’t want to admit she didn’t feel well. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |