TAVR gives EIRMC patient the best chance to survive life-changing surgery
Woody Andersen has always considered himself in good health. The 78-year-old from St. Anthony keeps active, doesn’t drink and schedules regular health exams. That’s why he’s known for some time that he’s needed a TAVR — a Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement. But he was reluctant to do it until he urgently required another surgery that couldn’t be put off.
"For 10, maybe 20 years, my primary care doctor has told me I have a heart murmur," Woody said. "At first, he said nothing needed to be done and we could just monitor it with routine tests. But several years ago, he said it was time to get it fixed."
Woody’s doctor urged him to get the TAVR. Instead of open-heart surgery and a significant hospital stay, a TAVR allows physicians to perform the same intervention by catheter and have patients go home within 24 hours. And, outcomes are better than with traditional open-heart surgery.
The minimally invasive procedure restores blood flow through a damaged aortic valve. During the procedure, a doctor inserts a catheter into a blood vessel in the groin or chest area. Using imaging guidance to access the heart, the damaged aortic valve is replaced with one made from cow heart tissue.
Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center (EIRMC) has the largest cardiology program in the region, serving patients from Idaho, southern Montana, western Wyoming, and Yellowstone National Park. Nationally recognized cardiologists are specially trained to provide personalized treatments, such as cardiac catheterization and rehabilitation, for heart conditions and diseases. The highly trained staff – including cardiac RNs in the cardiac catheterization laboratory or cath lab, cardiac rehabilitation, EKG and more – work with a multi-disciplinary team to provide patients with top notch cardiac care.
EIRMC is the only hospital in Idaho Falls that performs TAVR.
EIRMC has been named a Top 50 Cardiovascular Hospital for five of the last seven years, including 2024, 2025 and 2026. Learn about our advanced cardiology services.
But Woody still wasn’t convinced he needed the TAVR procedure. He felt fine.
"I asked my doctor what the symptoms of a faulty valve are," Woody explained. "He said fatigue, shortness of breath and swelling of the legs. I told him I didn’t have any of those. He said I’ve probably had this condition even longer than I’ve been seeing him and that I’ve probably just gotten used to it. In my own examination of myself, I’m in perfect shape. I mow my grass, take care of my yard and shovel snow. Then I asked him what the downside of waiting was. He said I wouldn’t be able to have any elective surgeries because I was too high-risk to go under anesthesia. I didn’t plan on breaking an arm or anything, so I put it off some more."
It wasn’t until Woody began experiencing frequent urinary tract infections (UTIs) that he would ultimately have to do something about his heart. Woody’s urologic condition worsened in the late fall of 2025, and he was having to change his urinary catheter four times a day. He needed a transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP), which would require him to go under anesthesia.
"My doctor said I had a 60% chance I wouldn’t make it off the table if I didn’t get my heart fixed first," said Woody. "So, I needed to have the TAVR so I could get the TURP. Once we had that plan on November 3, I thought it would take a long time to get it all set up and that nothing would be done until the first of 2026. But EIRMC was able to schedule the TAVR for November 17. They told me that if there were any complications, they had a cardiac surgical team standing by, which made me feel good. Fortunately, they weren’t needed. The procedure was successful and I would have gone home the same day, but it was done in late afternoon, so I stayed overnight. They wanted me to do cardiac rehab, and the nurse who came to set that up was right on top of it. She had my appointments scheduled out for the whole five weeks at a PT place just a quarter mile from my house before I ever left the hospital."
Woody received another pleasant surprise following his TAVR. Typically, patients are required to wait six months after having the procedure before having other procedures or surgeries, especially those requiring anesthesia. But he was given the ok to have the TURP much sooner.
"The doctors at EIRMC said I could have the TURP as soon as 30 days, so that any urinary infection I might get wouldn’t interfere with the success of the TAVR. So, I had my TURP on January 30, 2026. Everything went great. I went under anesthesia and had no problems. Now, I’m not changing a catheter four times a day or worrying about when I might get another UTI. I’m also not worried about a heart problem. I feel good. I’m happy!"
Compassionate care at EIRMC
Despite having two serious health issues requiring intervention in a short period of time, Woody has nothing but praise for the care he received at EIRMC.
"I was really surprised how quickly they were able to get me in for the TAVR," he says. "This has gone really fast. Everyone — all the doctors, nurses and staff were great. As soon as you walk through the door, they’re ready for you. You’re not sitting around waiting. And when you’re done at one place, someone walks you to the next. It’s like one-on-one service, which is really nice. I felt like they accommodated me to move freely through the hospital. Everything fell into place, and it was a short schedule instead of a long one."