valve

Olga Angus’s Story

In mid-April 2020, New Westminster resident Olga Angus turned a remarkable 108-years-old. It’s an anniversary that is one for the record books worldwide, because of a life-saving cardiac procedure seven years earlier at Royal Columbian Hospital.

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Adriana Bronk’s Story

Adriana Bronk was having such bad shortness of breath, she could no longer rest in her own bed. Instead, the 91-year-old woman had begun to sleep in a reclining chair. It turns out she was in need of a new heart valve. Unfortunately, surgery was not an option for her. She also wouldn’t be suitable for a non-surgical procedure known as TAVI – that is, until Royal Columbian Hospital became only the second site in Canada to use a new approach that is providing an option for people who otherwise would have none left.

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Jyotika Prasad’s Story

Jyotika Prasad and her husband were painting their home the weekend before a planned trip to Mexico when she started feeling uncomfortable. The 41-year old Vancouver resident woke up the next day with sore muscles, a lethargic feeling and a deep pain in her upper back. “I thought I pulled some muscles and was sore from doing so much,” she recalls.

As the symptoms persisted, Jyotika made her way to Burnaby General Hospital. There, she received shocking news: she had suffered a heart attack and was a type 2 diabetic. After being sent for further testing at Royal Columbian Hospital – the region’s cardiac care centre – she learned more troubling information. She would need quadruple bypass surgery.

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