In 2011, Erik Collins was referred to MedStar Health & Vascular Institute at MedStar Washington Hospital Center after having a mild heart attack. There, he was diagnosed with a bicuspid aortic valve, a common congenital heart defect in which the aortic valve has only two “flaps” instead of three. Because it can cause the valve to narrow, reducing or even blocking blood flow from the heart to the body, his doctors recommended that his condition be monitored annually.
While many people with bicuspid aortic valve aren’t affected by valve problems, Erik was, despite the fact that as a full-time swim coach, he was extremely fit. By September of 2019, at the age of 50, he was starting to develop some troubling symptoms and again turned to MedStar Heart & Vascular Institute for their expertise.
“I was hoping they could perform a minimally invasive procedure that had just been approved, but due to the extent of my condition that wasn’t an option,“ Erik says. “I needed a double coronary artery bypass and an aortic valve replacement—procedures that, in my case, called for open-heart surgery.”
“Needless to say, we were frightened by the thought of open-heart surgery,” explains Sara Collins, Erik’s wife. “But the team at the hospital said Erik was a great candidate for surgery, would recover quickly, and would be better than ever with the new valve and bypasses.”
Four days after surgery, Erik was home and walking around the neighborhood as part of his cardiac rehab regimen. Nine weeks later, he was running on the treadmill every day and on New Year’s Eve, the couple ran a four-mile road race.
“We are profoundly grateful for the care Erik received at MedStar Heart & Vascular Institute,” Sara says. “There are not enough words to express our thanks for an amazing team of people who changed our lives for the better and did it all with a smile.”
Erik wholeheartedly agrees. “The entire process was awesome. The professionals at MedStar Heart & Vascular Institute are rock stars. Everyone on the team was endlessly reassuring and absolutely stellar at their jobs. We thank all of them for giving our family the priceless gift of health.”