D EFIN IN G M O M EN TS - Barnes-Jewish Hospital

a heart giving out
but not up
“My wife is famous.” That’s what Mary Ann Cahalin’s
husband would share with friends and even some
strangers after she underwent her transcatheter
aortic valve replacement procedure. In January 2008,
Cahalin was the first person in the region to undergo
a minimally invasive approach to replace her
defective aortic valve without having to undergo
open-heart surgery.
Cahalin was part of a clinical trial at the Washington
University and Barnes-Jewish Heart & Vascular Center
that gave new hope to patients who are not eligible for
open-heart surgery. For years, Cahalin, a registered
nurse and mother of five, had heart problems. “I was
worn out. I could hardly walk around my own house.
I couldn’t even make a bed without sitting down at
least three times,” says Cahalin.
Mary Ann Cahalin
The procedure, which was approved by the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration in 2011, has given hundreds
of patients a new lease on life. “This has been like a
miracle to me. It was a complete turnaround to what
I was able to do before,” she says.
Recovery from the procedure is also a fraction of what
it is for open-heart surgery. Cahalin had the procedure
on a Tuesday and was out of the hospital by Friday.
“A month afterwards, I was camping again with the
Girl Scouts, something I hadn’t been able to do for
a very long time.”
10 BARNES-JEWISH HOSPITAL • 2011 Annual Report
DEFINING MOMENTS 11
TR ANSCATHETER VA LV E