KCTV: Pair of Kansas City Runners Return to Marathons After Heart Valve Surgery

Ernst Steffen and Donald Scott, both avid distance runners in their 70s, sought heart care at Saint Luke's Mid America Heart Institute when shortness of breath sidelined them from their races.

Now, the two local marathon runners are grateful to be back on their feet after being diagnosed with aortic stenosis, a common yet often life-threatening heart condition.

Though they did not know each other prior, the pair is now connected through Dr. Corinne Aberle, a cardiac surgeon at Saint Luke’s Mid-America Heart Institute, who performed both successful surgical repairs on the runners.

KCTV talked with Ernst and Don about how they came back stronger than before, and Dr. Aberle about diagnosis and treatment of aortic stenosis.