Without any apparent symptoms, Antonios Chondros suffered from a heart condition that required open-heart surgery at Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute.
Years ago, one of Mr. Chondros’ cardiologists discovered he had a heart murmur and a bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) that was also causing an aortic aneurysm. The BAV is an aortic valve that only has two leaflets, instead of three. The aortic valve is one of four valves that regulate blood flow through the heart. Mr. Chondros’ condition evolved to a point that he needed open-heart surgery.
The procedure was performed by Allan S. Stewart, M.D., chief of cardiac surgery at Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute. Mr. Chondros said Dr. Stewart was the only doctor who said that his heart valve could be repaired.
He recalls what Dr. Stewart told him: “There is no reason for replacement, or metallic valve or a tissue valve. I will fix your valve. We’ll fix the aneurysm.” That statement gave Mr. Chondros the confidence he needed. “Since I met him (Dr. Stewart), I said: This is it. I will do it with him.”
Mr. Chondros has always enjoyed exercising and loves playing tennis. But over the last year and a half, these activities have been forbidden by his doctors. Only three weeks after the open-heart procedure, he started going back to the gym. “I really feel grateful that right now I can resume the life that I had a few years ago,” he says. “I feel really nice about this.”
Mr. Chondros attended the 2018 Miami Heart Walk with his wife and son to help raise funds for cardiovascular disease. “It’s only been a few months after the surgery, and it is great that, you know, you feel normal again.”
“Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of all Americans,” said Marcus St. John, M.D., an interventional cardiologist and medical director of the Cardiac Catheterization Lab with Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute at Baptist Hospital of Miami. “Like the AHA, Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute is dedicated to eradicating heart and vascular disease through efforts like this.”
Aortic aneurysms were the primary cause of 9,863 U.S. deaths in 2014, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The condition can be described as a balloon-like bulge in the aorta, the large artery that carries blood from the heart through the chest and torso.
Signs and symptoms of thoracic aortic aneurysm can include:
• Sharp, sudden pain in the chest or upper back.
• Shortness of breath.
• Trouble breathing or swallowing.
Risk factors for aortic aneurysm include:
• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol
• Atherosclerosis (hardened arteries)
• Smoking
