A new outlook on life

STRUCTURAL HEART

Baptist Heart Specialists take patient from ‘on the way out’ to ‘on the mend.’

Ralph Liniado, left, and his wife Ethel, were able to celebrate their 55th wedding anniversary thanks to his successful procedure at Baptist Heart Hospital.

The day before Ralph Liniado had surgery, his thoughts were about dying. Now he thinks about living. For nearly 10 years, Liniado has been under the care of Baptist Heart Specialists cardiologist George Le-Bert, DO, chief of cardiology at Baptist Medical Center Nassau. During a recent visit, Dr. Le-Bert described his patient as having rapidly declining congestive heart failure. Because his heart was having difficulty pumping enough oxygenated blood, Liniado was having trouble doing everyday activities, despite optimal medical therapy. Liniado stated, “I was in gradual deterioration where you just kind of fade away. I'd had a stent implanted. I'd had a heart attack. I was so sick I could hardly walk to my mailbox, and I had to rest for hours after a shower. I just couldn't breathe.”

Stopping the leaks

Dr. Le-Bert determined Liniado's deteriorating condition was caused by mitral regurgitation (MR), the most common type of heart valve disorder. In Liniado's case, 60% of his blood was not flowing properly, which meant he wasn't getting the oxygen he needed. The leaks had to be repaired, and the answer was a MitraClip™ procedure. MitraClip™ is a small, clip-based device that repairs MR without the need for open-heart surgery. In this catheter-based procedure, the device is delivered to the heart through a vein in the leg. It works by bringing together both leaflets of the mitral valve to reduce the backflow of blood, allowing the heart to pump blood more efficiently. Because it is a minimally invasive way to repair mitral valves, patients typically can ambulate within hours and usually go home the next day.

It takes a team

Dr. Le-Bert knew the best place to send Liniado was the Structural Heart Clinic at Baptist Heart Hospital. So, he introduced him to Dr. Satpathy and Jenna Effron, PA-C. “From that moment on, I knew why Dr. Le-Bert said this was the best valve clinic and team in the country,” said Liniado. “The experience was so personal, thorough and professional, and the level of care was exceptional.” Dr. Satpathy has been doing transcatheter mitral valve repair for more than 10 years and serves as one of the few international proctors for this procedure. “This was the best option for Mr. Liniado with his other conditions,” said Dr. Satpathy. “Optimal outcome requires experienced and skilled operators, expert echocardiographers and a team of dedicated physicians, nurses and techs. We have all three, which has helped us to be a high-volume program with excellent outcomes.”

On the mend

“I did a lot of research on the device. A lot of hospitals do this procedure, but if you don't have the very best team and doctor doing the procedure, your outcomes are not necessarily as good as mine. There is no doubt I have the best team,” said Liniado. “I went from being on the way out to on the mend. Within hours after the surgery, I was walking around my hospital room in absolute amazement – no pain, no problems.” “The procedure was a huge success. His leaky valve went from severe to a trivial amount. It's the best outcome possible,” said Dr. Le-Bert. Just a couple of weeks after the procedure, Liniado said he was taking walks with his wife and doing more with his three grown sons and five grandchildren. “I was diagnosed with heart failure and given five years to live about 14 years ago. Dr. Le-Bert is a wonderful, talented heart doctor. I'm still here, aren't I? All I can say is thank you to the Baptist team for such world-class care. I have a completely different outlook now.” “The procedure was a huge success. His leaky valve went from severe to a trivial amount. It's the best outcome possible.”

George Le-Bert, DO Cardiologist, Chief of Cardiology at Baptist Nassau