Corine Wilson, 82, of West Ashley said she was constantly out of breath and panting prior to being the first to receive a new heart valve device at the Medical University of South Carolina . Not that it has slowed her down. "I didn't let that stop me," she said during a recent clinic visit at MUSC.
"I'm very active. I like to go ." But Wilson's health has noticeably improved.
"You can feel it," she said. "It's a difference." On Oct.
1, Wilson received the TriClip heart valve device on the first day it was available after approvals from both the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The device seeks to fill a void where previous surgery was problematic and too often lethal. It could also help some patients with kidney transplants get them, as well as potentially other organ-failure patients.
The TriClip tricuspid valve repair device prior to implantation. Wilson suffers from tricuspid regurgitation, where blood leaked backward through the tricuspid valve in her heart, flowing back into the right atrium instead of continuing on through the right ventricle and on to the lungs. The valve looks like three triangle-shaped flaps that separate to let blood flow through and then come back together to prevent backflow.
Many people have small, insignificant leaks through the valve that don't cause them problems but for others it can become a significant health problem, particularly as they age. In those over age 70, moderate to severe tricuspid.