An 85-year-old patient succeeded in simultaneous surgery for severe triple complex heart valve disease
Aug 20, 2025
Chung-Ang University Hospital has recently performed high-level heart surgery for 85-year-old female patients with complex heart valve disease at the same time and has shown excellent results in heart surgery for super-aged patients.
Jeong, an 85-year-old woman, found it difficult to go to the bathroom because her chest was stuffy and she was out of breath even if she walked or moved a little, and it was difficult to sleep because she had difficulty breathing when lying down.
Chung, whose symptoms worsened, visited Chung-Ang University Hospital in early July to receive medical treatment at the Department of Circulatory Medicine and examined it, and was diagnosed with three heart valve diseases at the same time: 'severe aortic valve stenosis', 'severe mitral valve obstruction', and 'severe mitral valve obstruction'.
'Aortic valvular stenosis' is a disease that does not open well when the left ventricle of the aortic valve, a valve in the area where blood flows from the left ventricle of the heart to the aorta, contracts. As calcium builds up in the heart valve due to degenerative changes caused by aging, it thickens and hardens, symptoms such as chest pain, dizziness, fainting, and shortness of breath appear and deteriorate rapidly, and if not treated, there is a high risk of death or sudden death within two to five years.
In addition, 'mitral regression' is also a disease in which the mitral valve between the left atrium and the left ventricle does not close well, making it difficult to live a daily life due to difficulty in breathing due to blood flow flowing back from the left ventricle to the left atrium.
The tricuspid insuffiance' that Jeong was diagnosed with is a heart valve disease in which the tricuspid valve between the right atrium and the right ventricle of the heart does not close properly, which can cause decreased heart function, and symptoms such as difficulty breathing, fatigue, and swelling appeared.
Jeong, who was diagnosed with these three severe heart valve diseases together, had to receive surgical treatment as soon as possible due to his severe breathing difficulties and high risk of death from heart failure, but he was worried about whether he could operate due to fear of underlying diseases such as diabetes and thoracic surgery at the age of 85.
Professor Hong Jun-hwa of Cardiovascular Thoracic Surgery at Chung-Ang University Hospital, who conducted Chung's surgery, said "There was no other way than surgery because he had a complex heart valve disease, but I recommended surgery because he was in relatively good general condition" and "I'm grateful that the patient made a difficult decision on the surgery, but he recovered well"
Professor Hong Jun-hwa then said, `The patient successfully performed relatively large heart surgery such as aortic replacement, mitral valve replacement, tricuspid valve surgery at the same time, and then the symptoms of dyspnea disappeared and recovered health.'
Jeong recovered quickly two to three days after the surgery, enabling him to move, disappearing from waking up out of breath, and disappearing from breathing difficulties, increasing his satisfaction in life.
With aging, the prevalence of heart valve disease over the age of 65 is increasing along with the increase in hyperlipidemia and arteriosclerosis. According to data from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, the prevalence of adult heart valve disease among the total population in Korea is increasing from 9.89% in 2010 to 17.03% in 2023.
According to the analysis of cardiovascular thoracic surgery at Chung-Ang University Hospital, about 30% of all heart surgery patients at Chung-Ang University Hospital over the past five years were over 75 years old, of which super-aged patients over 80 years old accounted for as much as 50%.
Professor Jun-Hwa Hong said, `Even elderly patients with heart disease can improve their quality of life significantly by sufficiently recovering their health after surgery""If you postpone the surgery due to vague anxiety, the risk of complications may increase and the prognosis may worsen, so you don't have to be afraid of surgical treatment if necessary " he stressed. "
Jeong, an 85-year-old woman, found it difficult to go to the bathroom because her chest was stuffy and she was out of breath even if she walked or moved a little, and it was difficult to sleep because she had difficulty breathing when lying down.
Chung, whose symptoms worsened, visited Chung-Ang University Hospital in early July to receive medical treatment at the Department of Circulatory Medicine and examined it, and was diagnosed with three heart valve diseases at the same time: 'severe aortic valve stenosis', 'severe mitral valve obstruction', and 'severe mitral valve obstruction'.
'Aortic valvular stenosis' is a disease that does not open well when the left ventricle of the aortic valve, a valve in the area where blood flows from the left ventricle of the heart to the aorta, contracts. As calcium builds up in the heart valve due to degenerative changes caused by aging, it thickens and hardens, symptoms such as chest pain, dizziness, fainting, and shortness of breath appear and deteriorate rapidly, and if not treated, there is a high risk of death or sudden death within two to five years.
In addition, 'mitral regression' is also a disease in which the mitral valve between the left atrium and the left ventricle does not close well, making it difficult to live a daily life due to difficulty in breathing due to blood flow flowing back from the left ventricle to the left atrium.
The tricuspid insuffiance' that Jeong was diagnosed with is a heart valve disease in which the tricuspid valve between the right atrium and the right ventricle of the heart does not close properly, which can cause decreased heart function, and symptoms such as difficulty breathing, fatigue, and swelling appeared.
Jeong, who was diagnosed with these three severe heart valve diseases together, had to receive surgical treatment as soon as possible due to his severe breathing difficulties and high risk of death from heart failure, but he was worried about whether he could operate due to fear of underlying diseases such as diabetes and thoracic surgery at the age of 85.
Professor Hong Jun-hwa of Cardiovascular Thoracic Surgery at Chung-Ang University Hospital, who conducted Chung's surgery, said "There was no other way than surgery because he had a complex heart valve disease, but I recommended surgery because he was in relatively good general condition" and "I'm grateful that the patient made a difficult decision on the surgery, but he recovered well"
Professor Hong Jun-hwa then said, `The patient successfully performed relatively large heart surgery such as aortic replacement, mitral valve replacement, tricuspid valve surgery at the same time, and then the symptoms of dyspnea disappeared and recovered health.'
Jeong recovered quickly two to three days after the surgery, enabling him to move, disappearing from waking up out of breath, and disappearing from breathing difficulties, increasing his satisfaction in life.
With aging, the prevalence of heart valve disease over the age of 65 is increasing along with the increase in hyperlipidemia and arteriosclerosis. According to data from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, the prevalence of adult heart valve disease among the total population in Korea is increasing from 9.89% in 2010 to 17.03% in 2023.
According to the analysis of cardiovascular thoracic surgery at Chung-Ang University Hospital, about 30% of all heart surgery patients at Chung-Ang University Hospital over the past five years were over 75 years old, of which super-aged patients over 80 years old accounted for as much as 50%.
Professor Jun-Hwa Hong said, `Even elderly patients with heart disease can improve their quality of life significantly by sufficiently recovering their health after surgery""If you postpone the surgery due to vague anxiety, the risk of complications may increase and the prognosis may worsen, so you don't have to be afraid of surgical treatment if necessary " he stressed. "
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This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
