She Said NO to Open-Heart Surgery: Mary Jo’s TAVR Experience

Watch Mary Jo share her story

When TriHealth patient Mary Jo Payne began experiencing fatigue and shortness of breath, she considered just chalked it up to the normal functions of aging—but something felt off, and she decided she would rather get checked out.

Mary Jo was then diagnosed with aortic stenosis, a very common but potentially fatal condition where the aortic valve hardens and stops functioning properly over time.

“It’s very common,” says Dr. Jonathan Rapp of the TriHealth Heart & Vascular Institute. “But when it happens, it can be a very frightening and intimidating condition.”

Traditionally in the past when it came to valve issues, patients had been faced with the daunting reality of undergoing open-heart surgery as the most common fix.

However, times have changed, and there are additional treatments for those who are able to get diagnosed early enough.

"She was just starting to get symptoms of shortness of breath with exertion and some chest discomfort," says Dr. Rapp. "But those are warning signs that we look for that indicate that we need treatment."

Luckily, Mary Jo’s proactive approach meant that she was diagnosed early, leaving her with options beyond open-heart surgery—options that included the Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement, or TAVR procedure.

“The benefit of course,” says Dr. Rapp when speaking about the TAVR compared to open-heart surgery, “is that our procedure typically takes about an hour, and patients often go home the next day.”

Mary Jo was given her options, and ultimately decided on the TAVR, which Dr. Rapp performed.

“The doctors were very supportive the day of… fortunately the anesthesiologist made sure I didn’t know anything,” Mary Jo laughs, reminiscing on her procedure. “The night went well, and then the next morning by 10 o’clock they said they were gonna release me. Unbelievable—the process took just 24 hours.”

The flexibility, increased quality of life and decreased recovery time available through minimally-invasive options is expanding what is possible for patients, and that’s exciting for Dr. Rapp.

“We can fix patients’ valves and treat their symptoms and they can go home with a band-aid,” he muses. “Instead of the traditional sternotomy with a five-day hospitalization, extensive rehab and all the work and stress that goes with that.”

Mary Jo is back to living her life however she pleases, unhindered by the fatigue and shortness of breath that started it all.

“Going up the steps probably once in a while I’d feel a little winded when I would go up and down, up and down, up and down… Now I don’t,” she says, emphasizing some of the reasons these impacts are so important to her. “You want to be here longer for the people you love.”