In the winter of 2002, 66-year-old Florida Senator Bob Graham was preparing to announce his candidacy for President of the United States. He expected his biggest battle to be for the Democratic nomination. Just a few months later, however, he was battling for his life on an operating table to avoid imminent heart failure, joining the 100,000 other Americans with repaired or replaced heart valves.¹

A seasoned political veteran and Florida native, Senator Graham was first elected to the Florida State House in 1966. He was in the state legislature for 12 years, was governor for eight years and served in the U.S. Senate for 19 years. He is known for his “Workdays,” where he spends a day working in jobs like a garbage collector, a teacher and a fireman to connect with his constituents. An avid jogger, he maintained a busy personal and public schedule, and noticed only slight shortness of breath over the years. Climbing the Capitol stairs with Senator Jay Rockefeller in 2002, however, he remembered huffing and puffing. His colleague advised him that he “should get his heart checked out soon.”

A pre-campaign physical exam in December 2002 revealed that one of Sen. Graham’s heart valves was leaking. About 2.7 million Americans suffer from this condition where one of the four valves within the heart does not function properly to ensure that the blood will flow in only one direction through the heart.

Given this sobering diagnosis, Senator Graham’s presidential campaign kickoff was put on hold while he underwent valve replacement surgery at the end of January 2003. Senator Graham remembers the doctors telling him he would have experienced a “significant heart condition within 90 days” had he not undergone the procedure. The average life expectancy for untreated patients with severe heart valve disease is two years.²

Released from the hospital within a week, Senator Graham was on the campaign trail two months later. Although his presidential bid did not end in the White House, he spent the 18 months leading up to his 2005 resignation from the U.S. Senate feeling great, with renewed energy.

Ten years ago, Senator Graham’s heart condition would have gone undetected until he collapsed from a heart attack on the campaign trail or had invasive surgery to detect the problem. In this case, however, doctors were able to pinpoint a problem with one of his valves using advanced sonographic medical technology and a Doppler examination, which shows the direction and velocity of the blood flow. In the years since Senator Graham’s surgery, additional advances have enabled doctors to perform the surgery with a smaller incision, which reduces hospital stays to as little as two days. With these advances, Senator Graham could have been back on the campaign trail at least a month sooner.

In 1960, Lowell Edwards and Dr. Albert Starr created and implanted the first commercially available prosthetic heart valve made from metal and plastic. Through constant testing and improvements, today’s heart valves are made from a variety of materials, including animal tissue. Enhancements in tissue heart valve technology can now help the valves last as long as 20 years.³

As a former member of the Senate Finance Committee, which is responsible for federal healthcare programs, Graham is a strong believer in the prevention of illness and other catastrophic health events. Senator Graham is grateful he was able to benefit from this technology. “This procedure really gave me life by preventing a heart attack or stroke,” he said. Senator Graham continues to work with the same passion and vigor that he brought to his many years in public office. Committed to combating terrorism and to improving civic education, he is now researching and lecturing as a senior fellow at the Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. He also enjoys spending time at his Miami Lakes, Florida home writing his next book. He takes long walks regularly and is in excellent cardiovascular health thanks to the advanced medical interventions he received in 2003.

* Industry estimates. 2006.