February is American Heart Month—a good reminder that heart issues don’t always show up in obvious ways.
For Bob Steinmetz, it started with shortness of breath that just didn’t feel normal.
“It got to the point where I could no longer make it up the steps and I live in a two-story house and I had to stop and rest twice on the way up. (That was when) I knew I had an issue,” Steinmetz said.
During a routine consult for carpal tunnel surgery at Aurora BayCare Medical Center, his provider suggested he see a cardiologist—a recommendation that turned out to be life‑changing.
“We see that a lot,” said Dr. Kristopher Selke, an interventional cardiologist at Aurora BayCare Cardiology. “I’d say it’s one of the more frustrating symptoms because shortness of breath can be from a primary cardiac issue but can also be from secondary issues related to lungs. That was one of the initial problems with him, trying to sort out what was the main drive.”
The cause was a leaky heart valve, which forces the heart to work harder because blood flows backward instead of moving efficiently forward. Steinmetz needed a heart valve replacement.
“I knew I needed to have it done because the other option is it gets worse and I believe that I wouldn’t be here now if it wasn’t for this heart valve,” he said.
Dr. Selke and his team performed a minimally invasive procedure using an artery in the leg to replace the valve. Steinmetz was able to go home the next day.
“A lot of these older patients, the reason why transcatheter valves were invented was to improve the efficiency of the procedure and improve the recovery,” Dr. Selke said. “In his case, I’d say it’s pretty typical, 80 percent of our patients are discharged the next day after aortic transcatheter valve replacements.”
Steinmetz says he felt relief almost immediately and has been able to cut back on medications. Now, he’s focused on getting back to what he loves most.
“In fact, I’m rehabbing my legs because my legs got weak. But I’m rehabbing to the point where I can go downhill skiing with my grandchildren again. I had to give that up three years ago, so I’m going to work on this until I get there,” he said.