Radio legend Bill Cunningham returns to work 8 days after life-saving valve replacement
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- Опубліковано 23 вер 2024
- SYCAMORE TOWNSHIP, Ohio (WKRC) - Local radio talk show legend Bill Cunningham returned to the airwaves Friday just eight days after receiving a heart valve replacement that saved his life.
"Alright, Billy Cunningham back on the air after eight days on the disabled list," Cunningham said to open his show.
His first guest: Dr. Dean Kereiakes, the Christ Hospital cardiologist who performed the aortic valve replacement. Dr. Kereiakes performed the procedure last Thursday. Cunningham's already back to work because of a minimally invasive procedure" transcatheter aortic valve replacement, also called TAVR.
"They punched a hole the size of a No. 2 pencil in my groin. And this 18-inch probe is about as thick as a cigar up into my heart. And within 24 hours of that, I'm having chicken noodle soup at my kitchen table at home, walking around," Cunningham said.
Twenty years ago, the procedure would have required far more downtime.
"They would have sawed you open, carved your valve out and put a new one in," Dr. Kereiakes said during the interview.
Dr. Kereiakes has been Cunningham's cardiologist for eight years. Cunningham knew he had a bicuspid aortic valve after receiving a scan of his heart years ago. In the last year, he was feeling short of breath and dizzy at times. His wife, Penny, urged him to go to the doctor in January where an echocardiogram was performed.
"So he shows me the echo, and my valve's opening one-eighth-of-an-inch when it should be open one inch," Cunningham recalls. "I said, 'Shouldn't I feel worse?' He said 'You will feel worse. You'll decline precipitously in the spring and the summer and you'll be dead.' I said, 'Doc, I got March Madness. I got Reds Opening Day. I got stuff going on, man.' He said, 'You're going to die'. I said, 'Die? What do you mean die?' He said, 'You're going to be dead.'"
The fact that Cunningham was having symptoms was concerning.
"The prognosis was guarded and he needed to do something," Dr. Kereiakes said.
Dr. Kereiakes inserted a valve from a cow using a stent and a catheter that was captured on video. The video shows the catheter expanding and working almost immediately.
"He had a spectacular result. An excellent result," said Dr. Kereiakes.
After receiving the news that he needed the valve replacement, Cunningham said he spoke with a lawyer to make sure his affairs were in order and he had some tearful talks with his wife. He started researching hospitals across the country to find the best place to have the procedure. The Christ Hospital was at the top of the list.
"But for Penny, I know I would not have gone back to him earlier. I know I wouldn't have done it," Cunningham said. "Now my heart is working a lot easier than it was before."
Cunningham's grateful to Dr. Kereiakes, who's become a friend. And he has a message for anyone who may watch or listen to him discuss his heart valve replacement:
"This is preventable, so for those watching: If you have those symptoms, please don't wait. Go see your GP and get to a doctor. Women, seven times more women die of heart disease than breast cancer," Cunningham said.
Dr. Kereiakes started performing the TAVR procedure in 2010. Since that time, he's performed nearly 900 procedures.
Thanks billy I had same procedure after listening to your pod cast.
Glad your back bill great amerucan !!!❤
We love you Willie! A true Great American and Cincinnatian.
After a lif changing event like this do you treat everyone better
Of course not
Remember the good old days when alex jones was just a conspiracy nut and not a nostradamus?
Garbage like this survives valve replacement while decent people in the world don’t come back to their families.
More likely that like a Hollywood movie they just followig the script..scripting..staying in character..like the shooters in your vicinity.
By the wsy i dont believe that the bibles revelation foresaw the future.