Linda Lopes is 77 years old and had a busy life. She worked on her family’s dairy farm for 40 years and stayed active. She took care of her own tasks like mowing the lawn & carrying groceries from the store. She was proud of doing things by herself. Linda didn’t go to the doctor much because she felt healthy. But when her mother got sick she started to think more about her heart health and decided to take better care of herself.
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Linda went with her elderly mom to the doctor to check out a bad cough. The doctor found something they didn’t expect – her mom’s heart valve was in bad shape and needed quick treatment. But before they could fix it her mom got sick with other problems & passed away. This made Linda think hard about her own health. She remembered how years ago her doctor told her she had a heart murmur. Back then the doctor said it wasn’t a big deal. Now she saw things differently.
“I need to check what’s happening with my health” she thought to herself.
Linda went to see her doctor and told him about her mom’s health problems. She said she felt okay except for being short of breath sometimes.
Then her doctor asked her to go for a walk with him. They walked up a small hill and Linda noticed something was wrong. She had trouble walking & talking at once.
“I could keep walking but I was breathing so hard that I couldn’t speak” she said.
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Linda developed the same heart problem as her mother. She had aortic stenosis which means her heart valve was not working well. This happens when calcium builds up and makes the valve stiff. When the valve gets stiff it becomes hard for the heart to pump blood through the body. This reduces how much blood flows to important organs and tissues.
Heart valve problems come in many forms but severe aortic stenosis stands out as one of the worst. Dr. Megan Coylewright works with heart patients & knows that each person needs their own treatment plan. She points out that heart valve failure often shows up in people who already deal with health issues like high blood pressure or diabetes. But even healthy older adults can get valve problems just from aging. Many people brush off the warning signs as normal aging. They might feel tired or dizzy or have trouble breathing. These symptoms seem normal to them but could mean something more serious. That’s why doctors need to look at each patient’s full health story and listen to what matters to them. This helps catch valve problems early when treatment works best.
Not everyone shows signs of the disease. Some people feel fine while others get sick. It’s important to find the problem early before it becomes dangerous. Many people don’t know they can get tested for this condition. Dr. Coylewright says you should first talk to your doctor about any worries you have. She also points out that people over 65 need to discuss their heart health with doctors. This is extra important for women because they often find out about heart problems later than men do. Getting checked early helps prevent serious health issues later on.
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Linda started her heart health journey with a screening test. After getting her results she talked to her doctor about what to do next. She found out that a group of heart specialists called the Heart Valve Team would help her make decisions & focus on what she wanted. The team checked her health carefully & then did a new type of heart valve surgery called TAVR. This modern method only needs a small cut in the leg. The doctors use a thin tube to put a new valve inside the old one. This way Linda didn’t need traditional open-heart surgery. The whole process was much easier on her body than older methods.
“Patients need to understand their options and pick the treatment that works best for them. They should think about how to manage their condition in the long run” Dr. Coylewright explained. “Most patients feel much better after getting a new valve and can do their favorite things again. But if they don’t get treatment the problem gets worse and can cause strokes or death within a few years.” Thanks to finding and fixing the problem early Linda now enjoys her garden and house tasks again. She also spends good time with her husband like before.
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Heart problems can kill you if you don’t treat them in time. Everyone should get their heart checked by a doctor. This is extra important for people over 65. The check starts with a doctor using a stethoscope to hear your heartbeat. If they hear something wrong, they will do a heart scan. Linda lost her mom to heart problems. This made her think about her own health. She went to see a doctor and told her brother and sister to do the same. Now she tells other people to check their hearts before they feel sick. “Getting your heart checked is easy” Linda says. “I don’t like going to doctors much. So I tell people that if I can do it they can too.”
