January 26, 2024
Retiree back in the swing of things after heart procedure
Tookie Gentilcore returns to enjoying life thanks to a quick, safe method to replace her aortic valve.
Tookie Gentilcore shares how her Kaiser Permanente care team helped her get back to doing what she loves most: being with friends and playing pickleball.
Tookie Gentilcore was enjoying her life as a recent retiree. She loved pickleball, gardening, and being with friends.
So, when she began feeling winded, she knew there was a problem. Even the smallest physical task was difficult.
“Something was definitely wrong,” she said. “I could barely walk up the stairs.”
Gentilcore, a Kaiser Permanente member, contacted her doctor. After hearing her symptoms, he immediately ordered an ultrasound of her heart.
Gentilcore had aortic stenosis, which is a narrowing of the heart’s most important valve, the aortic valve. When this occurs, the heart must work harder to pump blood through the valve. She needed to have the valve replaced.
‘Cutting-edge technology’
“She came in really nervous, like, ‘I don't have options here. What am I going to do?’” said Benjamin Galper, MD, interventional cardiologist at Kaiser Permanente. “As a team, we came together with a really excellent plan using cutting-edge technology.”
Their plan involved an innovative procedure called transcatheter aortic valve replacement.
Twenty years ago, Gentlicore would likely have needed open-heart surgery. During open-heart surgery, a surgeon cuts through the breastbone and spreads the rib cage to access the heart.
With transcatheter aortic valve replacement, an interventional cardiologist can replace a heart valve quickly and safely, with a tiny incision in the leg artery.
During the procedure, the interventional cardiologist delivers the replacement valve through the patient’s leg with the help of X-ray cameras. Interventional cardiologists at Kaiser Permanente have become experts at the procedure, performing it hundreds of times over the past decade.
“We’re focused on getting care for our patients as fast as possible,” Dr. Galper said. “The integrated care at Kaiser Permanente is key. We can get a patient from diagnosis to treatment in 2 weeks.”
Get better faster
Recovery times are quicker, too.
Most people who undergo transcatheter aortic valve replacement stay in the hospital no more than 24 hours after the procedure. And, they can return to regular activities in about 1 to 2 weeks.
Open-heart surgery patients may need to stay in the hospital for a week. Recovery times can be 2 months.
Not long after the procedure, Gentilcore was back on the pickleball court.
“Thank you, Dr. Galper,” she said. “You have given me my life back.”
Learn more about heart health and cardiac care at Kaiser Permanente.
