IN THE NICK OF TIME

PIH Health Helps One Woman Survive Mitral Valve Rupture and Cardiogenic Shock

PIH Health patient Colleen Kellick.

“If my heart valve would have ruptured at home, I would not be here today. I’m very blessed and very thankful to be alive and thankful for these wonderful doctors,” says Colleen Kellick.

About 3% of the U.S. population has mitral valve prolapse (MVP), a condition where the heart’s mitral valve is abnormal. This results in backward leakage of blood called mitral regurgitation.

At 67 years old, Colleen Kellick was one of those people. She was diagnosed with MVP in her 20s, but was never put on medication. As she got older, she was always aware of her condition, yet to her, it all seemed normal.

Everything changed when she saw her primary care physician Pinal Doshi MD at PIH Health Cerritos Medical Office Building in November 2022 and he advised her to have an echocardiogram at PIH Health Downey Hospital, which she did the following month.

“Later that night, my heart was racing and my pulse was extremely high,” said Colleen. “My Fitbit showed 129 heartbeats per minute—I knew something was way off. I called my doctor, and he told me to go to the emergency department immediately.” That advice was extremely wise.

“Colleen was in atrial fibrillation with low oxygen levels and fluid in her lungs,” said Katrine Zhiroff MD, PIH Health cardiologist. “An emergency echocardiogram revealed a chordal rupture—a massive tear in the mitral valve. It was a surgical emergency. She was also in cardiogenic shock—her heart couldn’t pump enough blood to meet her body’s needs.”

Colleen was rushed to the cardiac catheterization lab, where Dr. Zhiroff inserted an intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP), a device that controls blood flow and helps pump it to the rest of the body.

Once stabilized, Colleen was transferred to PIH Health Whittier Hospital, where Eduardo Tovar MD, PIH Health cardiothoracic surgeon performed a valve replacement.

Today, Colleen is restored to health and extremely thankful to be alive. “It’s so wonderful how God led me to the hospital at the right time,” she said. “If my heart valve would have ruptured at home, I would not be here today. I’m very blessed and very thankful to be alive and thankful for these wonderful doctors.”

To learn more about heart health, visit PIHHealth.org/HeartCare