Heart health: Tom and Elly Wansleeben have both suffered from aortic stenosis.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
During Heart Valve Disease Awareness Week, Shepparton cardiologist Dr Shane Nanayakkara wants to spread awareness of a little-known condition.
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Aortic stenosis is a condition where one of the main heart valves narrows, causing blood flow into the body to be reduced.
“Picture it like the doors to a kitchen — they swing open and swing closed,” he said.
“As people get older, the hinges can rust up a bit, and the doors just don’t open as well as they should.”
Heart checks: Dr Shane Nanayakkara wants to emphasise the importance of regular checkups to keep your heart healthy.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
Dr Nanayakkara said there were three main symptoms that those over 50 should watch out for.
“Getting more and more short of breath; getting chest discomfort when you’re doing physical activity; and feeling lightheaded or feeling like you are going to pass out,” he said.
“The most important thing is to get checked — ask your GP to listen to your heart and see if you have a murmur, which can mean that there is a problem with your heart valve.”
There are also plenty of effective treatment options available, with Dr Nanayakkara specialising in the Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation.
“If you’ve got faulty doors, the best thing is to try and replace the doors,” he said.
“We’ve been able to replace this valve with open heart surgery for half a century, but over the last 10 years, we have also been taking a less invasive approach, where we can insert the valve through a blood vessel in the leg, without a cut down the chest and without a general anaesthetic.”
This method is less invasive than open-heart surgery options and proved highly effective for two of Dr Nanayakkara’s patients.
Shepparton’s Elly and Tom Wansleeben, husband and wife, both developed aortic stenosis only two years apart and sought treatment through Dr Nanayakkara.
Elly was the first to experience symptoms back in 2021.
“I couldn’t walk too far; I was running out of puff,” she said.
Tom began experiencing similar symptoms only two years later.
“I started to lose a lot of weight, (I had) shorter breath, trouble walking, started losing strength,” he said.
The couple’s four children and grandchildren rallied behind them, helping them through their treatment.
Their daughter, Corinna Boldiston, said she saw an immediate change in them after they were treated with the TAVI.
“It was really noticeable with Dad,” she said.
“Walking from the bedroom to the kitchen, he would become dizzy and breathless. But after the operation, he was able to go grocery shopping again, do the errands he needed and walk up a couple of flights of stairs.
“Mum was more wakeful after the operation. She wasn’t as breathless.”
Elly received treatment in March 2021, while Tom received his in January 2023, just two days shy of his 86th birthday.
“An early birthday present,” he said with a laugh.
Tom and Elly are grateful for everything Dr Nanayakkara and his team did, and they are back to their everyday lives.
“I feel a hell of a lot better now,” Tom said.
“I feel good; I’m very grateful to Dr Nanayakkara and his team,” Elly said.
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