Nuneaton man with cow's heart valve raises disease awareness

Mr and Mrs Harris are "forever grateful" to a doctor who suspected his condition

A man whose life was saved with a transplanted cow's heart valve has urged people to learn more about hidden heart disease.

Ex-taxi driver Tony Harris, 69, found he had aortic stenosis (AS) by chance after he was put on beta blockers.

The condition occurs when a valve enabling blood flow from the heart to the aorta does not open fully.

Without an operation to replace it Mr Harris, of Nuneaton, said: "l firmly believe l would no longer be here now."

The couple are working their way through Tony's bucket list and spending more time in their caravan

After being prescribed the beta blockers to reduce his heart rate following a series of mini strokes, Mr Harris became breathless during a holiday to Weymouth with his wife, Charlotte.

A local walk-in centre doctor suspected he had a heart condition, and sent him for further tests.

"They took one look at Tony's swollen ankles and asked if he had any heart problems," said Mrs Harris. "We will be forever grateful to [the doctor], because he was absolutely amazing".

A scan picked up severe AS and, with his heart being slowed down further by the beta blockers, he was told he needed the operation to fit the valve. He underwent the procedure at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire.

"If things had been picked up earlier, Tony might not have had to have the actual valve replacement, he might have been able to have it repaired," Mrs Harris said.

"Sadly, things had got to a very severe state by the time we knew there was something wrong".

Mr Harris fulfilled a wish of spending Christmas in his caravan

Six years on, he said he was making the most of life.

"l was able to tick something off my bucket list when we spent our first Christmas away in the caravan and cooked the Christmas dinner there," he said.

The British Heart Foundation said hidden heart conditions often went undiagnosed until something went wrong.

"By funding groundbreaking research, we can get a step closer to breakthroughs that could help save and improve millions of lives," said fundraising manager Karen Robinson.