TAVR Patient, Dyke Foster, at Barnes-Jewish Hospital

The heart team at Barnes-Jewish worked to find the right replacement valve and cardiac procedure to give one man his life back. Learn more about heart valve replacement at Barnes-Jewish Hospital at http://www.barnesjewish.org/heart-vas... In February 2014, Dyke Foster developed pneumonia. During his recovery, he noticed some shortness of breath. His cardiologist told him that his heart valve, already replaced once before, was sticking when it opened, and he would need another replacement valve. Foster was referred to Alan Zajarias, MD, a Washington University interventional cardiologist, and Hersh Maniar, MD, a Washington University cardiac surgeon at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. Zajarias and Maniar are part of a specialized team that performs a minimally invasive procedure called transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). Foster was younger than the typical patient referred for a TAVR. His doctors explained to him that his replacement valve had calcified to the point that it was too risky to remove. However, the new valve that could save Foster’s life was not yet approved for use in clinical trials. He required a larger size than those approved by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA). The team at Barnes-Jewish was confident in their expertise, so they applied to the FDA for approval to use the valve. Foster’s wife, Cheryl, contacted their congressmen and representatives, asking them to make an appeal to the FDA on their behalf. Several weeks later, Zajarias was able to bring the Fosters good news: The valve was approved and on its way. Cheryl credits the work of the team at Barnes-Jewish for tirelessly pursing the approvals needed for her husband’s life-saving procedure. Transcatheter valve replacement is a procedure in which doctors replace a faulty aortic valve through a catheter-based delivery system that can be inserted through the leg, through the tip of the heart or through the ascending aorta. Foster’s team used ultrasound and X-ray to carefully position to the new valve, successfully replacing his failing valve with a new one. Thanks to the dedication and expertise of the Barnes-Jewish team, Foster says he has completely recovered and is able to perform his job—delivering mail-- without stopping. His wife says the team worked a miracle. To learn more or to make an appointment with a valve disease specialist, visit http://www.barnesjewish.org/Taxonomy/...