In the summer of 2022, Barb M. and her husband Drew were taking one of their many tours of Europe when Barb suddenly fell.
“We were on a European trip, and we were walking all over London and, suddenly, I was so tired, I fell down,” recalls Barb, an 81-year-old retired school teacher and homemaker from Scottsdale. “I did not hurt myself, but it was a sign that something was going on. I didn’t realize I had a problem. I thought I was just getting old.”
A diagnosis years before of Crohn’s disease, a type of inflammatory bowel disease with symptoms that include fatigue, had overshadowed signs of other physical ailments.
New health issue discovered
Tests eventually showed Barb had a slight leak in her heart’s aortic valve. Follow-up tests showed her valve was rapidly deteriorating, leading to a dramatic loss of breath and severe fatigue. The damaged valve was pumping only about half the normal flow of blood. Repairing the valve could require open heart surgery to fix, a somewhat risky procedure that Barb had reservations about.
One of her favorite vacation activities had been to explore the architecture of ancient cathedrals. “It got to the point where I couldn’t travel anymore, comfortably, and with the loss of breath, I couldn’t climb steps of the churches,” Barb explains. “It was getting worse and worse and worse, and I couldn’t live that kind of life.”
Clinical trial offers new alternative
The alternative to surgery was a clinical trial called JOURNEY in which an experimental device called a J-Valve was used to replace her heart’s worn-out valve, one of the first such procedures in the U.S., and the first in the west.
Conducted by David Rizik, MD, medical director of the Cardiovascular Research Division of HonorHealth Research Institute, the new artificial valve was inserted in October 2024 via catheter through her groin and into her heart.
Following the procedure, she was taken to a hospital recovery room. “I woke up and I felt great,” Barb shares.
She spent one night in the hospital. The next morning, Barb got up and took a walk with a nurse.
“The nurse said, ‘Ok. You’re fine. You’re going home today,’” recalls Barb. “I had a valve put into my heart that solved my problem. I feel great; I really do. It’s amazing. I think it’s a miracle. I’m very grateful. It’s a lifesaver.”
These days, Barb doesn’t need to be dropped off to visit a store. And if there are no close parking spaces, she doesn’t hesitate to park far away when she goes shopping. Even her cardiac rehabilitation exercises are a breeze.
“I found I could do more than I thought I could – it was really a wonderful thing,” explains Barb, adding that she appreciates how she was treated at the Research Institute. “I was treated wonderfully well. Everybody, from the secretary to Dr. Rizik to the nurse, everybody that I worked with was great!”
Subsequent tests of Barb’s new artificial aortic valve show no regurgitation. She will be monitored for five years.
Barb recommends the clinical trial to anyone who might need it. “If any one patient can be saved by my example, that would make me the happiest,” she says.
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