2026年4月4日 / 美国东部时间上午8:00 / 哥伦比亚广播公司新闻（CBS News）
作者：克里·布林 新闻编辑
克里·布林是CBSNews.com的新闻编辑，毕业于纽约大学亚瑟·L·卡特新闻学院，此前曾在NBC新闻的《今日数字》工作。她负责报道时事、突发新闻以及包括物质使用障碍在内的相关议题。
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约翰·坎特雷尔退休后，将“保持健康”定为自己的新“工作”。他原本身体状况良好、饮食规律，但他希望能亲眼看着孙辈长大。作为一名资深骑行爱好者，他增加了骑行时长，还开始打匹克球。
坎特雷尔认真参加所有医生预约。2024年8月，一名心脏病专家告知他患有主动脉瓣狭窄这种心脏疾病，他计划尽快接受治疗。但他并不担心：他没有心脏病家族史，也未察觉任何症状，因此认为病情尚处于早期阶段。
第二天，坎特雷尔和朋友骑车时，胸部出现了异样感觉。
“我感觉有点不对劲，好像心脏在扑腾，”现年66岁的坎特雷尔告诉CBS新闻，“那种感觉非常反常。我跟大家说‘嘿，我要掉头回家了’。等我再回过神来，已经躺在急诊室里了。”
坎特雷尔出现了肋骨骨折、肺挫伤和锁骨骨折。医生也证实了他的重度主动脉瓣狭窄诊断，并表示心脏无法正常泵血导致了他晕倒。这是他第一次意识到这种病情可能有多严重。
“这是我人生中希望能重来一次的时刻之一，”坎特雷尔说，“我在想，天呐，如果能重来，我绝对不会在第二天就去骑车……我本应该更上心，及时跟进治疗的。”
什么是主动脉瓣狭窄？
罗格斯大学罗伯特·伍德·约翰逊医学院教授、心脏外科主任马克·鲁索医生表示，主动脉瓣狭窄是指向全身泵血的主动脉瓣变硬变窄，无法正常发挥功能。它是美国最常见的心脏病类型之一，主要影响老年人。
鲁索说，确诊并非紧急情况，但患者应尽快制定治疗方案。他表示，许多患者“低估了这种病情相关的风险”。这种疾病最终会导致主动脉瓣功能衰竭，引发重症甚至死亡。
“一旦患者出现症状，如果不接受治疗，中位生存期仅约18个月，”未参与坎特雷尔治疗的鲁索说，“如果五年内不进行治疗，几乎所有人都会死亡。其死亡率与最晚期的癌症相当。”
该病的早期症状包括疲劳和呼吸急促。鲁索说，如果患者像坎特雷尔一样晕倒，则表明病情已进入晚期。
主动脉瓣狭窄的治疗
鲁索表示，目前没有药物可以预防主动脉瓣狭窄或延缓其进展。患者最终需要通过手术更换受损的瓣膜。
手术有两种选择：一是开胸手术，需停止心脏跳动，用机械瓣膜替换受损瓣膜；二是创伤更小的经导管主动脉瓣置换术（TAVR），通过导管将由生物组织制成的新瓣膜置入旧瓣膜内部。
两种手术各有利弊：TAVR术中使用的生物瓣膜使用寿命通常不如机械瓣膜长，日后可能需要再次更换。鲁索说，像坎特雷尔这样60多岁的患者中，约有40%最终需要再次置换瓣膜。而接受机械瓣膜置换的患者需要终身服用血液稀释剂，这会要求改变生活方式。
鲁索说，研究表明两种手术的效果相当，尤其对于原本身体健康的患者。
坎特雷尔的医疗团队向他解释了两种方案，并推荐了开胸手术。他的医生无法就此次报道置评。
坎特雷尔认为开胸手术创伤太大，而TAVR的恢复时间更短，这一点让他很动心。一位熟人也曾接受过TAVR手术并推荐了该方案。
“尽管医生说或许应该选另一种手术，但我还是选择了TAVR，”坎特雷尔说，“我真的觉得这对我来说是正确的选择。”
“没太担心”
坎特雷尔在摔伤康复后，于10月初接受了TAVR手术。手术进展顺利。醒来后不久，他就感觉身体好多了。
“我总能感觉到心脏在胸腔里跳动。比如，把手放在胸口就能感受到心跳，我想是因为它之前一直超负荷工作，而我从未意识到这一点，”坎特雷尔说。
坎特雷尔说他“不敢相信恢复得这么快”。术后10天内，他就重新骑上了自行车。在心脏康复阶段，他术后不久就能在跑步机上跑步了。坎特雷尔说，术后六个月他复查了医生，一年后又复查了一次，两次检查结果都显示一切正常。鲁索表示，接受任何心脏手术的患者都需要终身接受心脏病专家的监测。
坎特雷尔现在“不太担心”自己的心脏状况了。他2026年已经有不少计划：为期两周的加州太平洋海岸公路骑行之旅、3月和儿子与孙子的日本之行，以及和妻子及家人一起乘坐迪士尼邮轮，庆祝两人结婚50周年。
“我只是想回到从前的状态，能抱起孙子，和他们一起做些事情，”坎特雷尔说，“而这就是我现在的生活。”
编辑：露西娅·I·苏亚雷斯·桑
收录于：
心脏病
A retired grandpa thought he was in good health — until he fainted during a bike ride
April 4, 2026 / 8:00 AM EDT / CBS News
By Kerry Breen News Editor
Kerry Breen is a news editor at CBSNews.com. A graduate of New York University’s Arthur L. Carter School of Journalism, she previously worked at NBC News’ TODAY Digital. She covers current events, breaking news and issues including substance use.
Read Full Bio
When John Cantrell retired, he decided his new job would be staying healthy. He was already in good shape and ate well but he wanted to make sure he could see his grandkids grow up. Already an avid cyclist, he upped his time on the bike and took up pickleball.
Cantrell made sure to go to all his doctor’s appointments. When a cardiologist told him he had a heart condition called aortic stenosis in August 2024, he planned to get it treated soon. But he wasn’t worried: He had no family history of heart disease and hadn’t noticed any symptoms, so he thought the condition was in its early stages.
The next day, Cantrell felt a strange sensation in his chest while cycling with friends.
“I felt kind of weird, like my heart was fluttering,” Cantrell, now 66, told CBS News. “It was just a really unusual feeling. I told the group ‘Hey, I’m going to turn around and go back home.’ And next thing I knew, I woke up in the emergency room.”
John Cantrell, far right, with his family. John Cantrell
Cantrell had broken ribs, a punctured lung and a fractured collarbone. Doctors also confirmed Cantrell’s diagnosis of severe aortic stenosis, and said his heart’s inability to pump blood correctly led to his passing out. It was the first time he understood just how serious the condition could be.
“It’s one of those moments in my life that I wish I could do it over again,” said Cantrell. “I think, gosh, if I could do this over, I certainly wouldn’t go on the bike the day after. … I should have been more diligent about following up on it.”
What is aortic stenosis?
Aortic stenosis occurs when the aorta, the valve that pumps blood through the body, becomes stiff and narrow, preventing it from working as well as it should. It is one of the most common types of heart disease in the United States and mostly affects older adults, said Dr. Mark Russo, professor and chief of cardiac surgery at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
A diagnosis isn’t an emergency, but patients should quickly make a treatment plan, Russo said. He said many patients “underestimate the risks” associated with the condition. It can cause the aortic valve to fail eventually, risking severe illness or death.
A healthy aortic valve compared to one with aortic valve stenosis. Sakurra / Getty Images
“Once patients have symptoms, then their median survival is only about 18 months if it’s left untreated,” said Russo, who did not treat Cantrell. “If they don’t have it treated over a five-year period, then almost everyone dies by that point. It has a mortality that’s similar to the most advanced forms of cancer.”
Early symptoms of the disease include fatigue and shortness of breath. If a person faints, as Cantrell did, that’s a sign the disease is advanced, Russo said.
Treating aortic stenosis
There are no medications to prevent aortic stenosis or slow its progression, Russo said. Patients will eventually need surgery to replace the damaged valve.
There are two choices for surgery: An open-heart operation where the heart is stopped and the valve is replaced with a mechanical option, or a less invasive option called a TAVR procedure, during which a catheter is used to place a new valve made of biological tissue inside the old one.
Each procedure has its pros and cons: The biological valves used in TAVR procedures often do not last as long as mechanical options and may need to be replaced again down the road. About 40% of people who are in their 60s, like Cantrell, will eventually need a replacement, Russo said. Those who get a mechanical valve need to take blood thinners for the rest of their life, which can require lifestyle changes.
A diagram from the Mayo Clinic shows how a replacement valve is inserted during a TAVR procedure. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
Research shows the surgeries have equal outcomes, especially for patients who are otherwise healthy, said Russo.
Cantrell had both options explained to him by his care team, who recommended the open-heart option. His doctors were not available for comment on this story.
Cantrell thought the open-heart surgery sounded invasive, and he liked that the TAVR had a faster recovery time. An acquaintance had also had a TAVR procedure and recommended it.
“Even though the physician was saying maybe go with the other procedure, I went with the TAVR,” Cantrell said. “I really felt like that was right for me.”
“Not too worried”
Cantrell underwent his TAVR procedure in early October, after recovering from his crash. The surgery went smoothly. Shortly after waking up, he realized he was already feeling better.
“I could always feel my heart beating in my chest. Like, if I put my hand on my heart, I could feel it, and I think it’s because it was working really, really hard and I just never realized that,” Cantrell said.
John Cantrell. John Cantrell
Cantrell said he “couldn’t believe how fast the recovery was.” Within 10 days, he was back riding his bike. In cardiac rehab, he was able to run on a treadmill shortly after surgery. He saw his doctor six months after the operation, then again at the one-year milestone. Everything looked clear in those visits, Cantrell said. Russo said patients who undergo any form of heart surgery will be monitored by a cardiologist for the rest of their lives.
Cantrell is “not too worried” about his heart now. He has plenty of plans for 2026: A two-week cycling trip down the Pacific Coast Highway in California, a trip to Japan with his son and grandson in March, and a Disney cruise with his wife and family to celebrate the couple’s 50th anniversary.
“I just wanted to be back and kind of be my normal self, so I could pick up a grandkid and do things with them,” Cantrell said. “And that’s where I ended up.”
Edited by Lucia I Suarez Sang
In:
Heart Disease
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