Grateful heart patients and caregivers celebrate 500th life-saving cardiac medical procedure milestone at Intermountain McKay-Dee Hospital
Before November 2016, heart patients in Northern Utah who needed a potentially life-saving procedure to repair their damaged heart valves had to travel to Salt Lake City or further to receive the state-of-the-art care.
That was until doctors at Intermountain McKay-Dee Hospital in Ogden, Utah started a TAVR procedure program for patients closer to home. Now, the hospital has hit a medical milestone: performing their 500th lifesaving TAVR procedure.
Doctors and grateful patients joined together at the hospital on Wednesday to celebrate this achievement and honor those who have been instrumental in ensuring that residents in Northern Utah have access to the minimally invasive procedure that spares patients from major open-heart surgery.
Without this procedure, many patients who are too weak or ill to undergo major open-heart surgery to have their faulty valves repaired, would die.
“For me, this procedure was a miracle,” said patient Larry McClurg, a Centerville resident who was the 501st patient to have the procedure done at Intermountain McKay-Dee Hospital. “I’m so grateful to this team for the technology that helped save my life.”
McClurg underwent the TAVR procedure early last month (October), after being brought to the hospital by ambulance after passing out while working in his yard.
After receiving the procedure, he spent one night in the hospital and was able to go home the next day.
“We’re thrilled to be able to provide this procedure to patients in our communities in Northern Utah to ensure they have access to the most innovative and advanced heart care possible,” said Eric Lindley, MD, medical director of cardiovascular medicine and heart & vascular services at Intermountain McKay-Dee Hospital and the Intermountain north area market.
“This is a wonderful team effort by so many at the hospital. We’re thankful for the support and the great collaboration to make our heart program a terrific and life-saving resource for the community,” Dr. Lindley added.
TAVR, which stands for transcatheter aortic valve replacement, is a minimally invasive heart procedure that uses a catheter to replace narrowed aortic valves that fail to open properly. This occurs when the heart’s aortic valve thickens and calcifies, preventing the valve from opening fully, which limits blood flow from the heart to the rest of the body.
This condition, known as aortic stenosis, can cause chest pain, fainting, fatigue, leg swelling, and shortness of breath. It may also lead to heart failure and sudden cardiac death in some patients.
Grateful patients, many of whom struggled to walk a dozen steps before the procedure due to their weak hearts and are now hiking or jogging and whose lives have been dramatically improved, shared their experiences at the celebration program with doctors and caregivers at Intermountain McKay-Dee Hospital.
Kristi Gagnier, a 58-year-old Ogden resident who underwent the TAVR procedure on September 25, 2023, at Intermountain McKay-Dee Hospital, said she could physically feel a difference within hours after the procedure.
“It was a night and day difference,” she recalled. “Before the procedure, I could barely take a few steps without being completely out of breath. I was exhausted all the time. My quality of life was not good. Afterward, I felt and feel like a new person. I’m so grateful for this team and so impressed with the care that I received.”
For up-to-date information and announcements, please see the Intermountain Health newsroom at https://news.intermountainhealth.org.
About Intermountain Health
Headquartered in Utah with locations in six states and additional operations across the western U.S., Intermountain Health is a nonprofit system of 34 hospitals, 400 clinics, medical groups with some 4,600 employed physicians and advanced care providers, a health plans division called Select Health with more than one million members, and other health services. Helping people live the healthiest lives possible, Intermountain is committed to improving community health and is widely recognized as a leader in transforming healthcare by using evidence-based best practices to consistently deliver high-quality outcomes at sustainable costs. For more information or updates, see https://intermountainhealthcare.org/news.