Hampton Bays Resident Gets a New Lease on Life

At 78-year-old John Defazio, of Hampton Bays, who was suffering from aortic valve stenosis, was not an ideal candidate for open heart surgery. With his condition getting worse, the prognosis was grim.

Doctors said that Defazio's aortic valve was not opening properly, hindering blood flow from his heart to the rest of his body, causing chest pain, heart palpitations, fatigue, and a heart murmur. Untreated, doctors said Defazio could be looking at heart failure.

Then, Defazio's doctor referred him to Richard Schwartz, DO, Director of Cardiovascular Outreach at Winthrop-University Hospital. Schwartz soon identified Defazio as a candidate for a new heart valve, called the Edwards Sapien Transcathether Heart Valve.

The valve, according to doctors at Winthrup-University Hospital, one of 70 centers in the United States to offer the Edwards Sapien Transcathether Heart Valve, is one that can be transplanted in patients without open heart surgery. 

The valve, doctors said is inserted through a catheter through an artery in the groin and then advanced up to the heart. The valve is then expanded with a balloon and immediately functions in place of the old valve. 

A team of physicians, performed the procedure on Defazio, who said that when he woke up, he felt better. 

"I could breathe easier and my blood pressure improved. To me it was a miracle," said Defazio. "The team of doctors gave me new lease on life."