True Grit: Healing a Cowboy's Heart
December 07, 2017
At 85, James Domingos is still enjoying life as a cowboy, thanks to a transcatheter aortic valve replacement.
Always rolling with the punches when it comes to life, 85-year-old James Domingos faced his health issues with the same grit.
For many years, he roped cattle for friends and rounded up horses for the Bureau of Land Management. In recent years, a pacemaker controlled the rhythm of his heart, but didn’t slow him down.
“We used to be able to take walks for 15 minutes in one direction and take the dog,” says Domingos’ wife, Joy. “Then it got to be less and less.”
Tests at Renown Health revealed a heart valve was nearly closed.
His heart doctor, Jake Ichino, MD, FACC, FSCAI, suggested a transcatheter aortic valve replacement, known as TAVR, which repairs a heart valve without removing the damaged valve. The procedure is recommended for patients who are at high risk for open heart surgery.