Key points from today’s guests:

Dr. Steve Stites, chief medical officer, The University of Kansas Health System

• Surgeons used to make a long incision and crack open the ribcage to get to the heart, but over the past two decades or so, less invasive options have revolutionized heart procedures.
• Surgery that would traditionally leave patients in the hospital for weeks has evolved to only needing about a day or two for in-hospital recovery.
• Catheter-based heart procedures started as a plan B, but today it has become the standard of care.

Jack Selzer, received transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR)

• A chest x-ray led to further looking into an issue with his heart.
• Otherwise, he had no overt symptoms other than some fatigue.
• He was only in the hospital for about 30 hours.
• Jack said it was a very good experience and he feels great today.

Dr. Peter Tadros, interventional cardiologist; division director, Interventional & Structural Heart Services, The University of Kansas Health System

• This procedure may be even better than open heart surgery for some patients, especially for those at high risk.
• Minimally invasive valve replacement is now the default treatment for aortic stenosis.
• Aortic stenosis mortality rate is 40-50 percent within two years without treatment.
• The guideline is 65 and older for this procedure.
• Most people go home the next day.
• These valves have a limited lifespan – about 10-15 years.
• This is serious disease, so it is important to get it checked by the right medical team.

Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director, Infection Prevention & Control, The University of Kansas Health System

• There has been a slight rise in COVID cases.
• Wastewater testing is important in helping track cases.
• The latest vaccines will be coming soon.
• Unconfirmed total deaths from COVID deaths on July 13 was 202, but contrast that to the peak of 26,000 deaths in one week in January 2021.
• There has been 11 total cases of bird flu since 2022, but they are linked to agricultural workers.

Thursday, July 25 at 8 a.m. is the next All Things Heart. Cynthia Akagi was camping when she felt a sharp pain in her chest. The next thing she knew she was taking an ambulance, then a helicopter, to the hospital. She’ll share her harrowing story, and we’ll see how quick action by first responders and hospital staff saved her life.

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