Beginning in 2020, Sue Ellen Bigioni experienced a string of significant and emotional personal losses.
“I lost my brother in August 2021 and my husband of 50 years, Vince, later that year – three days before Christmas. Then in 2022, I lost another brother in March and my sister on Memorial Day, so it was rough,” recalls Sue Ellen.
For years, Sue Ellen had struggled with a number of chronic conditions, including coronary artery disease, atrial fibrillation (AFib), high blood pressure, COPD, sleep apnea, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. However, her main complaint was severe shortness of breath, which worsened as she grieved the loss of her family members.
“I was in a huge home on an acre of land by myself. I could barely move from one room to another,” says Sue Ellen. “I usually stationed myself on the middle level, and I would sit in my kitchen for 20 minutes to a half hour before I attempted to go up the steps to my bedroom.”
Medication changes did not improve Sue Ellen’s escalating symptoms. Her cardiologist referred her to a specialized heart failure cardiologist for a consultation, where she was diagnosed with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF).
In HFpEF heart failure, the muscle of the left ventricle becomes stiff, preventing the heart from its healthy functions of relaxing and filling with oxygen-rich blood between each heartbeat.
A stiff left side of the heart cannot properly handle the increased blood flow that occurs during physical exertion. This causes pressure to build up and push back into the lungs, which leads to shortness of breath.
Sue Ellen’s specific type of heart failure didn’t respond well to medical therapies. As a result, her heart failure cardiologist suggested she may be eligible to join a clinical trial researching the APTURE device, a new heart failure treatment option.
Through a minimally invasive procedure, this implanted device creates a shunt that directs blood flow out of the left atrium of the heart. Instead, the device routes the blood flow into the right atrium through the coronary sinus, which are veins combined to form a large blood vessel in the heart. In certain patients with HFpEF, this way of decreasing left atrial pressure has been proven to reduce shortness of breath.
Sue Ellen admits that she was skeptical about participating in a clinical trial. Encouraged by her children, she agreed to undergo the pre-trial testing and discovered she qualified for the procedure.
In June 2024, Sue Ellen’s heart care team successfully implanted the APTURE device in her heart. Her breathing almost immediately improved as she was transported to her hospital room to recover.
“I remember being with my daughter, Jennifer. I got up from bed and walked to and from the bathroom, and she said, ‘Mom, you’re not gasping to breathe!’”
After her discharge one day after the heart surgery, she went to her daughter’s house to recover from the procedure and had to climb 10 steps to get to the bedroom. “I wasn’t gasping for air,” Sue Ellen recalls. “Over time it got better and I could do more and more,” she explains. “And when I went for my post-op appointment, I felt fabulous!”
It’s been over a year since Sue Ellen received the APTURE device. Living independently, working part-time and enjoying daily walks with her dog, Addie, she’s looking forward to a long-standing annual camping trip, a cruise to Greece and a vacation to Florida. All of which would have been impossible before her heart procedure.
“This was my last chance to have a life and I wasn’t ready to give up,” says Sue Ellen.
Now, with her health restored and her confidence renewed, Sue Ellen is proving that hope and perseverance can open the door to a whole new chapter.