Breathing Easy Again: Evelyn's Journey Through Aortic Valve Replacement

Evelyn Greenberger had been experiencing shortness of breath and a fluttering heartbeat – symptoms she thought indicated she had pneumonia. She got quite a surprise, though, when she went to the emergency room and doctors told her that it was not pneumonia. Instead, she was in heart failure.

Juan Pablo Umana, MD, Chair of the Division of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery at Cleveland Clinic in Florida, says Evelyn had a leaky aortic valve. The shortness of breath she was experiencing was due to the blood volume overload in her heart, which was causing a backup to her lungs. Her symptoms were typical of her condition.

Dr. Umana recommended an aortic valve replacement to restore the normal flow of blood through her aorta to prevent it from flowing back into her heart.

“The earlier you have the operation the better and easier the recovery,” Dr. Umana says.

Evelyn says she chose to have the aortic valve replacement at Cleveland Clinic in Florida because she knew it was “an amazing organization.” Being a resident of Boca Raton she was grateful Cleveland Clinic in Florida was nearby. She also says she felt confident in Dr. Umana and his team. 

“I could not have been in better hands,” she says. “When I went in on the day of surgery, I had every question answered. (The Cleveland Clinic team) just embraced you.

There was no fear because everybody wanted to be there and comforted you for who you were.”

Dr. Umana used a minimally invasive approach to Evelyn’s surgery. The minimally invasive approach allows surgeons to make smaller incisions without having to open up the chest. This way causes less scarring and pain and a faster recovery than traditional open surgery.

“This was a team effort,” Dr. Umana says. “The patient is at the center not only of the care but of the decision making.”

Evelyn couldn’t be more pleased.

“There’s a whole new world that’s open to me now. There’s nothing stopping me,” she says.

“I’ve got the energy and the same zest I had when I was 30-something or 40-something.

Dr. Umana gave me this gift and it’s now my chance to use it.”