Bob Sinclair knows his health journey is unique. A lifelong heart condition has led to three open-heart surgeries over the decades, a path not many people can say they’ve had to follow. All along the way, a cache of expert Hoag cardiologists saw Bob, now in his 70s, through every surgery, each time more advanced, and with the excellent care he’s always known from his hometown hospital. 

Bob was in his late 30s, athletic and active, when he visited his doctor for a checkup. “He listens to my heart and says, ‘Your heart is leaking like a sieve.’ I’ll never forget those words,” Bob recalls.

As a teen in the 1960s, he was told that he had a heart murmur, but nothing more. He wouldn’t find out until adulthood that he was born with a bicuspid aortic valve in his heart, an abnormality when the valve has only two small parts, called leaflets, instead of the normal three. Once the valve shows signs of leaking, also called aortic regurgitation, or stenosis, the heart is likely working harder to pump blood to the body. The extra work can lead to heart failure.

The news changed Bob’s life. A dedicated athlete and adventurer living in Newport Beach with his young family, Bob was accustomed to being active. His new cardiologist advised that he stop. “That’s like telling a professional athlete they can’t play anymore. I wasn’t a professional, but that was a big issue in my life,” Bob said. 

Sometime later, Bob received a recommendation from a friend to see Hoag cardiologist Richard Haskell, MD, who would become his physician for over 30 years. Bob underwent his first valve replacement at 43 years old at Hoag, performed by cardiovascular surgery leader Aidan Raney, MD, FACC.

Physicians told him the valve would last around 10 years. Bob thrived. Though, on schedule, the decade passed, and Bob, at 53, started feeling symptoms again. The valve needed replacing, and a bypass was also required. This time, it was Hoag’s Douglas Zusman, MD, who performed the surgery. With even greater advances in cardiac procedures and devices, his new valve had a longer lifespan: 15 years.

Philanthropic support has enabled the Jeffrey M. Carlton Heart & Vascular Institute to consistently evolve and implement the latest treatments to advance patient care. “Technology changes, and having these brilliant cardiologists who are able to apply new developments at Hoag is a major benefit to all of us,” Bob said. In 2019, Bob had this third surgery.

“Sure enough at 68 years old, I had it replaced again,” he said. The physicians and team at Elaine & Robert Matranga Aortic Center went above and beyond the call of duty, Bob said. Thanks to philanthropic support, the center offers a comprehensive program with a multidisciplinary team approach to treating complex aortic conditions.
 
Bob’s new valve has a life expectancy of 20 years. He is keenly aware of the innovations in heart procedures available at Hoag, especially Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR), a minimally invasive option that avoids open heart surgery. Thanks to philanthropic support from Bob and Marjie Bennett and many other generous donors, Hoag began offering TAVR in 2012 to serve patients well before most hospitals in the nation. 

“I never take it for granted that we have Hoag here so close, and it has this caliber of doctors,” Bob said. “We’ve watched the little hospital on the hill become big, and it keeps getting better and better.”

​Read More Stories