{"id":68779,"date":"2026-02-18T13:55:52","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T21:55:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/?p=68779"},"modified":"2026-02-18T13:55:56","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T21:55:56","slug":"optimism-heart-valve-replacement-help-corvallis-woman-thrive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/news\/optimism-heart-valve-replacement-help-corvallis-woman-thrive\/","title":{"rendered":"Optimism &amp; Heart Valve Replacement Help Corvallis Woman Thrive"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"article\">\n\t<header class=\"header\">\n\t\t<span class=\"type\"><\/span>\t\t<h1>Optimism &amp; Heart Valve Replacement Help Corvallis Woman Thrive<\/h1>\t\t<time>February 18, 2026<\/time>\n\t<\/header>\n\t<div id=\"block_e03180a4f33ad43ca7cf104b8a9d5110\" class=\"shs-block block-news-article entry-content\">\n\t\t<div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"acf-innerblocks-container\">\n\n<p>At 88, Patricia Fields has overcome numerous health challenges including a broken hip, stroke, cancer and, most recently, heart valve replacement surgery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMy doctor told me I work harder staying alive than anyone he knows,\u201d Fields said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After retiring from a lengthy career in education at age 75, Fields moved to Corvallis to be closer to her daughter. Despite the trials of life \u2014 including the deaths of two husbands, her daughter\u2019s cancer recurrence and her own health struggles \u2014 Fields remains deeply grateful for the life she\u2019s built.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After she had a stroke, her primary care physician, Eric Sharp, DO, at Samaritan Family Medicine \u2013 Southwest, recommended a heart evaluation. This led her to seeing <a href=\"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/patients-visitors\/find-a-doctor\/dhillon-ashwat-1871813394\/\">Ashwat Dhillon, MD<\/a>, an interventional cardiologist at <a href=\"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/find-a-location\/samaritan-cardiology-corvallis\/\">Samaritan Cardiology \u2013 Corvallis<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After thorough testing including an echocardiogram, CT scan and cardiac catheterization, Fields was told she needed a new heart valve. This could be done using a minimally invasive procedure known as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.heart.org\/en\/health-topics\/heart-valve-problems-and-disease\/understanding-your-heart-valve-treatment-options\/what-is-tavr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">TAVR<\/a>, which stands for transcatheter aortic valve replacement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Using high-tech imaging equipment, a new prosthetic valve is used to replace the old damaged aortic valve. This is usually done with percutaneous access, meaning no incision or stitches are necessary. With TAVR, the patient is under less anesthesia and the recovery time is much faster than traditional open-heart surgery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI didn\u2019t want a lot of options. I just wanted to get it fixed,\u201d she recalled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Following a successful procedure, Fields attended cardiac rehabilitation and recovered quickly. She resumed her exercise routine averaging six hours a week, including swimming in a warm therapy pool, working out on a recumbent cross trainer, walking on a treadmill and riding an indoor bike. She also remains active, caring for her two dogs and maintaining her household.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI accomplish as much as I used to, though I give myself breaks,\u201d she said.<br>Fields\u2019 resilience is rooted in her belief in looking for the good in every situation. She embraces life with optimism, whether navigating personal health issues or social differences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe most important thing is to look for the good and accept that people have different views,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Her positive attitude has been strengthened by her faith, a deep appreciation for medical advances and the lessons learned from her late husband\u2019s heart transplant. Reflecting on her own heart procedure, she said, \u201cHaving gone through that with him, my heart problem seems so simple.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fields credits her doctors and <a href=\"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/patients-visitors\/find-a-doctor\/miller-bryan-1578138244\/\">Bryan Miller, PA-C<\/a>, at Samaritan Cardiology \u2013 Corvallis, for helping her regain health and vitality while guiding her through her health challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI work at staying alive, and I like living life,\u201d she said. \u201cI would recommend TAVR to anyone who needs it. It has been really good for me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For more information on Samaritan\u2019s heart program, visit <a href=\"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/health-services\/all-services\/heart\/\">samhealth.org\/Heart<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<aside>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"360\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Patricia-Fields-TAVR-CO.jpg\" class=\"attachment-cta size-cta wp-post-image\" alt=\"Heart valve replacement patient Patricia Fields sitting with her two Yorkshire Terrier dogs sitting on her lap.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Patricia-Fields-TAVR-CO.jpg 360w, https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Patricia-Fields-TAVR-CO-300x250.jpg 300w, https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Patricia-Fields-TAVR-CO-120x100.jpg 120w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 360px) 100vw, 360px\" \/><\/figure>\t\t<\/aside>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/article>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Patricia Fields shares how a successful heart valve replacement with Samaritan Health Services helped restore her health and keep her active through life\u2019s many challenges.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":68782,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":"","_shs_workflow_notes":"","_shs_exclude_from_navigation":false,"_shs_promote_article_on_blogs":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"news-topics":[285],"news-types":[270],"services":[241],"specialty":[515,68,30],"class_list":["post-68779","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","news-topics-patient-story","news-types-feature-article","services-heart","specialty-cardiology","specialty-cardiothoracic-surgery","specialty-cardiovascular-disease"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68779","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68779"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68779\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68782"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68779"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68779"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68779"},{"taxonomy":"news-topics","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-topics?post=68779"},{"taxonomy":"news-types","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-types?post=68779"},{"taxonomy":"services","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/services?post=68779"},{"taxonomy":"specialty","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/specialty?post=68779"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}