Glen Gustafson - No more Huffing and Puffing

In late 2021 visual effects artist Glen Gustafson experienced a severe episode of tachycardia – a fast heart rate. “It lasted all night,” Glen said.

Glen was later diagnosed with severe Aortic Valve Stenosis, which is a narrowing of the aortic valve opening usually due to calcification of its leaflets. “At the time I wasn’t having severe symptoms but as months went by it got worse,” Glen said. Severe aortic Valve Stenosis symptoms include shortness of breath, chest pressure, decreased exercise tolerance and dizziness.

After consulting with Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital Interventional Cardiologist Abhishek Sinha, MD, “I decided to have a TAVR procedure done,” Glen said. TAVR stands for Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement. It’s a cutting-edge minimally invasive procedure to replace severely diseased aortic valves that fail to open properly.

Dr. Sinha is Medical Director of the Structural Heart program at Henry Mayo. Since starting the TAVR program in June, 2021, Dr. Sinha and the team at Henry Mayo have completed over 60 TAVRs with excellent results.

On January 5, 2023, Glen had the TAVR procedure done by Dr. Sinha and the Henry Mayo Roberta G. Veloz Cardiovascular Center team. Since having the procedure, “the difference is night and day,” Glen says. “I used to huff and puff and I’m not doing that anymore. And I have no discomfort.”

A mere two weeks after his TAVR procedure Glen was back to work. He works as a visual effects artist and also teaches several college-level course in Visual Effects.

“The care at Henry Mayo was fantastic,” Glen said.

Just recently, to further increase his strength and endurance, Glen began participating in Henry Mayo’s Cardiac Rehabilitation program.

“I feel like I have a new lease on life,” Glen says. “I feel better than ever!”