New Lease On Life For Ocean Co. Man After Heart Valve Repair

GALLOWAY, NJ — Last year, Bill Bothe would get winded tying his shoes.

The 75-year-old Ocean County resident had been diagnosed with atrial fibrillation (a-Fib) the year prior, and his symptoms were worsening. His favorite activities, riding his bike and fishing, were entirely off the table.

An ultrasound showed that Bothe had a leaky mitral valve, just like 4 million others in the country, according to the American College of Cardiology. This causes blood to back up into the lungs and if untreated, can cause heart failure.

But a minimally invasive procedure at AtlantiCare brought him back to how he was before - and now he says he's riding his bike five miles a day.

"I feel great," Bothe said.

His procedure was three months ago. The Structural Heart Program team at AtlantiCare's Heart and Lung Institute used the MitraClip procedure, which places a clip on the heart valve to restore normal function - preventing blood from flooding back into the atrium.

The MitraClip pulls the leaflets of the heart together, making blood flow normally and making the symptoms better without traditional open-heart surgery, according to Dr. Jeffrey Van Hook, interventional cardiologist and medical director, Structural Heart Program, who recommended the procedure to Bothe.

Bothe had the MitraClip procedure at the Heart and Lung Institute at ARMC Mainland Campus and was home by 2:00 p.m. the next day, according to AtlantiCare.

The team does the procedure by making a small needle stick in the groin, guided by x-ray and ultrasound imaging, similar to a cardiac catheterization. Patients can resume normal activity can in about a week. After three months, Bothe is back on his bike and eager to start fishing again.

The procedure significantly reduces both in-hospital and recovery time and offers a possible solution for people who are at too high a risk to undergo open-heart surgery, according to AtlantiCare. Plus, the location of AtlantiCare has benefits, too.

"We are able to treat patients close to home, which is more convenient for them and their families," Van Hook said.

The work of the team has Bothe looking forward to the future.

"I'm really looking forward to March and catching sea bass and blackfish again—and just enjoying my time on the water," he said.

In addition to MitraClip, AtlantiCare provides minimally invasive transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), Watchman, atrial fibrillation ablation, coronary artery bypass graft and traditional valve surgery, and complex coronary stenting. They are also home to the region's only Cardiac ICU staffed by specialized Cardiac Critical Care physicians who are at the bedside on a 24/7 basis.