(WXYZ) — While some heart problems can come on suddenly, those with a slower onset can be more difficult to notice.
That's a big problem because as more time goes by, more lasting damage can be done to the heart. That's true of heart valve problems.
At Henry Ford Health, a new investigational heart valve transplant is paving the way to a better for a Michigan woman and pushing the limits of cardiac care.
Janice Couch, 62, was told she had a heart murmur and had to go to the ER right away. They were a shock to her, as she said she felt fine.
"She goes, 'we have an ambulance here,'" Couch said.
Unbeknownst to her, Couch had two failing heart valves. The symptoms were masked by a liver problem she may have inherited from her mother, and a failing hip.
"It was my heart not getting all the proper, you know, oxygen and whatnot," Couch said. "That was making me weak and everything. And now I just have all my energy back."
Thanks to a new investigational heart valve being tested at Henry Ford Health. Couch needed valves that would have required open heart surgery, but her other health issues were an obstacle.
"Her liver and other problems would have put her at grave risk of a complication," Dr. Tiberio Frisoli, an interventional cardiologist at Henry Ford Health, said.
She couldn't receive traditional open-heart surgery and current minimally invasive valve replacements don't work on Janice's heart type of valve problems – until now.
The new surgery is the JenaValve Transaortic Valve Replacement. It's inserted into the femoral large artery and guided to the heart where it's opened and set in place.
"This brand-new technology is engineered slightly differently," Frisoli said.
The challenge – the tissue around Janice's aortic valve was soft. That made securing the artificial valve a problem. The groundbreaking solution was these retention elements secure the implant in place
"There would be the potential for this valve to just slip right into the heart, and that would be a catastrophe," Frisoli said.
Couch had the procedure May 11 and says while recovery time was minimal, the benefits have been huge. She blamed some of her weakness on her arthritic hip. Turns out the faulty valve was at the heart of it all.
"I just had all this energy, and I was like, I didn't realize it was my heart," Couch said.
Now Janice can have hip surgery this summer, regain her independence and be active with her grandsons who are always close to her heart.
"I want to go out and take them for walks and go push them in the park in the swing, and I want to get down on the floor and play with them," she said.
Janice will likely need a liver transplant but now that actually an option thanks to the new valve implant.
The new valve is still an investigation tool. It is not widely available.
Still, Frisoli says they do have three other patients in line for the treatment and are being presented to the National Screening Committee this week.
He believes that this valve or a valve like it will become FDA-approved and commercially available.
It's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when.
