ASpecial Bir thdayCelebration ASpecial Bir thdayCelebration

“It sure was a nice birt hdaypresent ,”remember s Bett y Lou My hrum, 82 , of Thief Ri ver Falls, Minnesot a, as she rec alls her TAVR procedure at Es sent ia Heal th in August 2020.

“It sure was a nice birt hdaypresent ,”remember s Bett y Lou My hrum, 82 , of Thief Ri ver Falls, Minnesot a, as she rec alls her TAVR procedure at Es sent ia Heal th in August 2020.

Transc at heter aor tic valvereplacement (TAV R) isa minimall y invasi ve procedure to replacea nar rowed aort ic valve that failsto openproper ly. In the procedure,a doctor inser ts a catheter into your leg orches t and guides it through your blood vessels, using advanced imaging techniques ,to your hear t and into your aort ic valve.

Transc at heter aor tic valvereplacement (TAV R) isa minimall y invasi ve procedure to replacea nar rowed aort ic valve that failsto openproper ly. In the procedure,a doctor inser ts a catheter into your leg orches t and guides it through your blood vessels, using advanced imaging techniques ,to your hear t and into your aort ic valve.

Once your aort ic valveis open , blood flow is restored, and sy mptoms improve, leadingtoa bet ter qualit y ofli fe.

Once your aort ic valveis open , blood flow is restored, and sy mptoms improve, leadingtoa bet ter qualit y ofli fe.

For Bett y Lou, sy mptoms st ar ted severalyear s ago when she noticed she would ex perience weak ness t hat would come and go – as wellas some shor tnes s of breath. She thought it might have to do wi th her Ty pe 2 diabetes . Bu t, during one shor tnes s of breath episode, Bett y Lou knew something more was going on and called anambulance.

For Bett y Lou, sy mptoms st ar ted severalyear s ago when she noticed she would ex perience weak ness t hat would come and go – as wellas some shor tnes s of breath She thought it might have to do wi th her Ty pe 2 diabetes . Bu t, during one shor tnes s of breath episode, Bett y Lou knew something more was going on and called anambulance.

Bet ty Lou was broughtto Es sent ia Heal th -Far go to receive the li fesaving care she needed She saw Dr Alok Saurav,a cardiologis t at the Es sent ia Heal th Hear t and Vascular Center. Af terreview ing her histor y and sy mptoms , Dr Saurav ex plained the bene fi ts of TAVR “A fter talk ing to the doctorfor the firs t time,I had no reservat ions wi th him doing the surger y. He asked me questions and made me feel so comfor table In fact , he ex plained ever ything so well,I didn ’t even have a question to ask,” shares Bett y Lou.

Bet ty Lou was broughtto Es sent ia Heal th -Far go to receive the li fesaving care she needed. She saw Dr. Alok Saurav,a cardiologis t at the Es sent ia Heal th Hear t and Vascular Center. Af terreview ing her histor y and sy mptoms , Dr. Saurav ex plained the bene fi ts of TAVR . “A fter talk ing to the doctorfor the firs t time,I had no reservat ions wi th him doing the surger y. He asked me questions and made me feel so comfor table. In fact , he ex plained ever ything so well,I didn ’t even have a question to ask,” shares Bett y Lou.

Before her TAVR procedure, Bett y Lou shares that she didn ’t have the energ yto really do any thing and she spent most of her time st ar ing at the four walls of her apar tment

Before her TAVR procedure, Bett y Lou shares that she didn ’t have the energ yto really do any thing and she spent most of her time st ar ing at the four walls of her apar tment .

Af ter surger y, she’s able to easil y make the walk to the ot her end of the building to do laundr y, goesgrocer y shopping andis back to gett ing ou t of her apart ment and into the communi ty, which she loves.

Af ter surger y, she’s able to easil y make the walk to the ot her end of the building to do laundr y, goesgrocer y shopping andis back to gett ing ou t of her apart ment and into the communi ty, which she loves.

When theday camefor Bet ty Lou ’s procedure, Dr Sauravlear ned that it was her 82ndbirt hday. “I am honoredto have been able to gi ve her the gi ft of a fi xed hear t,” shares Dr. Saurav.

When theday camefor Bet ty Lou ’s procedure, Dr. Sauravlear ned that it was her 82ndbirt hday. “I am honoredto have been able to gi ve her the gi ft of a fi xed hear t,” shares Dr Saurav

Bet ty Lou said the replaced valve has gi ven her a second chance at li feand she can feelher st reng th and st amina improv ing each day. “I ’ll be back to my old self eventually I am 82 af ter all. It ’s goingto take time,” she says .

Bet ty Lou said the replaced valve has gi ven her a second chance at li feand she can feelher st reng th and st amina improv ing each day. “I ’ll be back to my old self eventually. I am 82 af ter all. It ’s goingto take time,” she says

Bet ty Lou had two very specialreasonsto get her hear t fi xed– one of her granddaughters was planning a wedding and anot her was goingto make her a great grandma for the firs t time. Bett y Lou was able to walk down the aisle wi thou t gett ing shor t of breath to watch her granddaughter get married and is delightedto be a grandmaof three anda great grandma of a baby boy.

Bet ty Lou had two very specialreasonsto get her hear t fi xed– one of her granddaughters was planning a wedding and anot her was goingto make her a great grandma for the firs t time. Bett y Lou was able to walk down the aisle wi thou t gett ing shor t of breath to watch her granddaughter get married and is delightedto be a grandmaof three anda great grandma of a baby boy.

“EveryoneI encountered during my time at Es sent ia was just fant as tic,” shares Bett y Lou. “I would come back for anything bec ause it was sucha wonderf ul ex perience!”

“EveryoneI encountered during my time at Es sent ia was just fant as tic,” shares Bett y Lou. “I would come back for anything bec ause it was sucha wonderf ul ex perience!”