Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
- Intermountain McKay-Dee Hospital in Ogden celebrated over 500 successful heart surgery procedures.
- Dr. Eric Lindley has performed transcatheter aortic valve replacements since 2016, significantly impacting northern Utah communities.
- Patients like Larry McClurg and Kristi Gagnier expressed gratitude for the life-saving procedure.
OGDEN — Larry McClurg knows he would not be standing at a celebratory reception six weeks after having heart surgery 30 years ago.
If doctors back then discovered he had a damaged heart valve, they would have rushed him to open-heart surgery — if they did anything at all. The one- to two-month healing time from open-heart surgery would have kept him homebound, away from his loves of gardening, volunteering and telling captivating stories.
Well, it is not 30 years ago — "thank God," according to McClurg — and he did not have open-heart surgery on Oct. 8 when his damaged heart valve was found. Instead, he had a heart procedure — a transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) – that gave him a new lease on life, as in saving it altogether.
"It's a miracle. To me, it's a miracle," McClurg said. "I call it a miracle because I think the steps in front of the people who came up with it were inspired. And I feel blessed.
"When they told me something was wrong with my heart and I'd have to go to McKay-Dee Hospital because that's where the cardiac services were. We went, waited a couple of days and had the TAVR done. That was on Oct. 8. I was home relaxing on Oct. 9. I am very fortunate."
Damaged heart valves are not a rare problem.
Close to 12 million Americans suffer from heart valve disease, when the valves do not open and/or close properly and the heart has to work harder, causing potentially fatal problems with blood flow. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 75% of American adults know little to nothing about heart valve problems and ways to repair them.
The transcatheter aortic valve replacement is a minimally invasive way to repair the damaged valve or valves. Until 2016, anyone in Utah who needed the procedure had to go to Salt Lake City, an often added burden for those outside of metro Salt Lake.
Nine years ago, efforts were made to provide the procedure at McKay-Dee Hospital. This would allow northern Utahns to receive the same treatments available 30 miles south.
Dr. Eric Lindley is the lead heart surgeon who performs the heart surgery at McKay-Dee. He has performed more than 500 transcatheter aortic valve replacements since 2016. McClurg was the 501st patient to receive the procedure at the Ogden hospital — and as a Utahn who grew up in north Ogden, he is happy to provide such a vital service to his home community.
"It means a lot to me as a local community member to be able to do this," Lindley said. "We have found by bringing TAVR here there were a lot of patients who were just not being treated. So now, you put your faith and trust in us ... and we take that responsibility seriously. The fact that we can bring this ground-breaking procedure right here makes all the difference."
Ogden resident Kristi Gagnier, 58, had a transcatheter aortic valve replacement nearly 14 months ago at McKay-Dee. When she noticed she was having a hard time breathing and could not keep up with her grandchildren, a medical visit led to the discovery of a problem with her heart valve. She was given the option of open-heart surgery or transcatheter aortic valve replacement, and, after speaking to Lindley, she decided on the TAVR route.
She was amazed at how quickly she felt better. She could breathe better than she had in years immediately following the procedure, and she had more energy. Gagnier thanks Lindley for saving her life. She's so grateful that she decided to work for him as a patient service representative.
"When I was leaving the hospital, I said to them, jokingly, 'If you guys ever have anything open up, give me a holler,'" Gagnier said. "Now I work with his team. Working in the place that saved my life? I feel very, very blessed and grateful. It's such an incredible procedure. So, yes, I'm very, very grateful."
