Gloria suffered from chest pain for years. In November 2007, the intensity of her pain became unbearable and she was rushed to the emergency room. Gloria was diagnosed with severe aortic stenosis and needed a replacement heart valve.
Gloria didn't have insurance to cover the procedure, so the hospital connected her with the Larry King Cardiac Foundation, a non-profit organization supported by more than $250,000 in multi-year grants from The Edwards Lifesciences Fund. The Foundation covered the costs of her surgery and her physician chose to replace her heart valve with a Carpentier-Edwards PERIMOUNT aortic heart valve. “I can breathe again,” said Gloria, who no longer suffers from shortness of breath as a result of her faulty native valve.
“The best time to treat valvular heart disease is before symptoms become severe,” said Pravin Shah, M.D., M.A.C.C., who is dedicated to helping patients like Gloria. The Edwards Lifesciences Fund has awarded $100,000 to help develop the Hoag Heart Valve Center and provide free heart valve screenings for seniors. “We hope to save thousands of lives with the early detection of valve disease that results from these screenings,” said Dr. Shah.
View the Edwards Lifesciences & the Community.
