Matters of the Heart

Surgical Valve Replacement Treats Local Teacher’s Congenital Heart Valve Defect

PIH Health patient Marcela Sanchez

Marcela was born with a faulty aortic valve as well as dextrocardia. Because of her condition, Marcela had regular checkups with her primary care physician her entire life until she was referred to a PIH Health cardiologist.

Congenital heart defects—including faulty heart valves—appear in nearly one percent of newborns each year in the United States, which is around 40,000 patients. Marcela Sanchez, a 62-year-old Whittier resident and retired teacher, is included in that number.

Marcela was born with a faulty aortic valve as well as dextrocardia, a rare condition in which the heart points to the right side of the chest instead of the left. Because of her condition, Marcela had regular checkups with her primary care physician her entire life until she was referred to Sudhaker Nayak MD, a PIH Health cardiologist.

In 2018, after Dr. Nayak conducted her latest angiogram, the results showed that Marcela’s heart valve had worsened.

“I remember feeling tired all the time but simply attributed it to my work as a teacher,” she said. “I didn’t realize my heart valves were the problem.”

According to Dr. Nayak, Marcela had critical aortic stenosis—hardening of the aortic valve over time— which makes it difficult for the heart to pump blood to the rest of the body. It needed immediate attention.

Marcela was referred to Eduardo Tovar MD, PIH Health cardiothoracic surgeon, who performed an aortic valve replacement surgery in December 2018.

“Surgical aortic valve replacement is a very common, well-established procedure,” explained Dr. Tovar. “More than 182,000 surgical valve procedures are performed across the U.S. each year. It was definitely the right solution for Marcela.”

After a successful surgery, Marcela was released from PIH Health Whittier Hospital four days later.

“My recovery was surprisingly easy,” said Marcela. “I started walking soon after surgery, and I went to all of my doctor appointments. I also went to cardiac rehab, which really helped in my recovery. I was back to work about six months later.”

Marcela continued to work as a teacher until she retired in 2021. Today, she has a clean bill of health thanks to the cardiac team at PIH Health.

For more information, please visit PIHHealth.org/HeartCare