Patient Outcomes: Vada Satterfield knew she would eventually need an aortic valve replacement. She had aortic stenosis, but she was worried about her ability to recover from open-heart surgery. By 2016, the retired teacher couldn’t delay any longer. “The symptoms had been gradual, but I reached a point where I was tired all the time and had trouble breathing after walking across a room.” Around that same time, Satterfield learned that transcatheter aortic valve replacement, or TAVR, was being done at Cone Health’s Heart and Vascular Center. She was intrigued. Would it work in her case? After a series of tests, including an echocardiogram and cardiac catheterization, cardiologist Michael Cooper, MD, agreed that TAVR was a good option for Satterfield. “One of the nurses came dancing into the room and said, ‘You’re going to be a new person. No more shortness of breath.’ And she was right,” Satterfield says. Since the procedure, Satterfield and her husband have joined the YMCA and adopted a healthier diet. “For the first time in my life I find myself loving exercise, and that’s saying a lot. I feel better than I have in years,” she says. "Just as I needed it, TAVR had come to Greensboro." Structural Heart/TAVR 18 19 CONE HEALTH | HEART AND VASCULAR CENTER CONE HEALTH | THE NETWORK FOR EXCEPTIONAL CARE The TAVR team at Cone Health includes exceptional nursing and technical teams, as well as highly skilled cardiologists and surgeons, including, back row to front, left to right: Rodney Cox, RRT, RCIS; Chris McAlhany, MD; Stacey Matsuoka, BS, RCIS; Jeremy McDaniel, BA, RCIS; Diana Acuna, BSN, RN; Bryan Bartle, MD; Ryan Brooks, BSN, RN; Michael Cooper, MD; Allyssa Hegarty, BSN, RN; Natalie McBride, BSN, RN; Mechelle Gengler, RN, RNFA; Smokey Twine, ST, RCIS; Carswell Jackson, MD; Christa McClellan, RN, RNFA; Clarence Owen, MD. “Dr. Cooper explained to me why he loves TAVR. They don't have to go in through the chest and break the breast bone, and you don't have months of recovery.” — Vada Satterfield Satterfield, pictured right, volunteers at Ten Thousand Villages, a fair-trade store for international artisans.