A Veteran Who Survived Three Wars Wins New Battle Over Heart Disease

Newswise — Ninety-three year old, Jesse Aldrich, spent his time on ships as a marine engineer during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. In recent years, Aldrich has been fighting a battle inside his body. Severe aortic stenosis was causing his health to deteriorate quickly. “I would walk out in the backyard to grab some firewood and I couldn’t make it back inside without being out of breath,” Aldrich said. “I had to give up doing the treadmill because I just couldn’t do it anymore.” Severe aortic stenosis is a serious heart valve condition where more than half of those diagnosed die within two years. It occurs when the heart valve narrows and fails to open properly, obstructing blood flow from the heart. Over time, the heart works much harder to pump blood out and this eventually weakens the heart muscle. This can lead to fatigue, shortness of breath, and death. The only way to fix the problem is to replace the valve. Aldrich received a Trans-catheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR). “For this procedure, the new aortic valve is compressed onto a catheter then guided from the leg artery to the heart,” said Dr. Stephen Little, director of the Valve Clinic at Houston Methodist Hospital. “When released in the heart, the new valve simply displaces the diseased valve, and the heart is able to pump again without obstruction.” Houston Methodist was one of the institutions involved in the TAVR trial that looked at the effectiveness of the valve in patients with severe aortic stenosis who were not good candidates for open surgery. The study found that TAVR significantly reduced the rate of re-hospitalization and death in these patients over standard therapy. "The TAVR is best for very high risk patients who wouldn’t tolerate open surgery because of extreme age or other medical conditions,” Little said. “If patients come in with good lung and kidney function, most feel better almost immediately after the procedure. Mr. Aldrich did extremely well.” Aldrich says the TAVRgave him his life back. He’s back on the treadmill 15 minutes a day and is nearly back to normal one month after surgery. He says he can now get back to enjoying his more than 50 grandchildren and great-grandchildren. “I’m back to mowing my yard and taking care of my home,” Aldrich said. “Even at my age, the TAVR has given me the future I could have only dreamed of a few months ago.” Follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MethodistHosp and Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/houstonmethodist.