Drew Costanza: Grateful to be alive

February is American Heart Month—a time a celebrate the stories of our patients

Drew Costanza (center), heart valve repair patient, after completing an Adirondack hike with his family

February is American Heart Month, a time to recognize what our community can do to prevent and treat heart disease, which takes more than 600,000 lives annually in the U.S.

It is also a time to celebrate the stories of patients and families who are thriving today thanks to expert medical care at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC).

This heart month, 61-year-old Drew Costanza of Mendon, a Rochester area suburb, is thankful to be alive.

Costanza has always had a zest for life and adventure. As a young man, after finishing law school and securing a job and home, he pursued a lifelong dream by enrolling in flying lessons. A father of four and real estate entrepreneur, Costanza always led a very active lifestyle, including running, skiing, and tennis.

Private pilots must undergo regular medical screening, so he was surprised at age 45 to learn in a regular FAA flight physical that he had a previously undetected heart murmur caused by mild to moderate mitral valve prolapse. While not an exceptionally rare condition, there were some associated risks. For the most part, Costanza maintained his pace of life, but he attended regular checkups with his new cardiologist, Seth Jacobson, MD.

Then, everything changed. In October of 2019, Costanza was in the car running some errands when he began to feel strangely tired and out of breath. He pulled over and composed himself, but by the time he reached home, he did something entirely out of character: he took the rest of the day off work and took a long afternoon nap.

Mysteriously, things got progressively worse for Costanza. Normally one to spring out of bed, he felt lethargic and ill. Finally, his family convinced him to visit his physician, who recognized that something was dramatically wrong and sent him directly to the emergency department at Strong Memorial Hospital.

After many tests and a hospital admission, Costanza learned that doctors suspected a minor infection over the prior months had spread to his bloodstream and induced sepsis, resulting in damage to his mitral valve and a situation that would need to be addressed quickly.

What started with fatigue was turning into a need for open heart surgery: valve replacement or repair. For Costanza, who had never experienced surgery, this was a scary prospect.

Thankfully, Costanza had the renowned URMC cardiac surgeon Peter Knight, MD, in his corner. Knight is a nationally recognized authority on valvular heart disease and a skilled surgeon who has touched thousands of lives in our region during more than 30 years of practice. Many of his patients feel they owe their lives to his care, including Costanza.

Knight felt strongly that he could restore Costanza’s quality of life through valve repair and, if needed, valve replacement.

“I was thrilled to hear the news that Dr. Knight could do my surgery. I had a really good shot at being able to keep my valve,” says Costanza. “I knew what I was signing on to—no surgery is without risk.” He was also pleased to learn that Knight would use a minimally invasive procedure over the traditional method of going through the sternum.

Within weeks, preoperative testing confirmed Costanza’s readiness for the surgery. He recalls the kindnesses of the entire team at URMC, even in the moments as he was wheeled into the operating room. One anesthesiologist sensed his apprehension and held his hand, and Knight reassured him that they would connect after the surgery to talk about how things had gone.

In the end, the surgery went as planned. When he regained consciousness, Costanza was relieved to find out that indeed Knight had successfully repaired the valve, avoiding replacement.

A few hours after surgery, Costanza was able to see his wife, brother, and son, who had all come to visit. Within 24 hours, he had been completely removed from the tubes and machines monitoring him and ensuring his safety. That brought tremendous relief.

Most importantly, Costanza was already beginning to feel better. Within three days, he was discharged from the hospital—just days before COVID shutdowns swept across the nation. He would have to rehabilitate primarily at home, under careful monitoring and video visitation with the multidisciplinary cardiac care team.

“I couldn’t wait until I could finally do something where I could really test my physical capacity,” says Costanza.

That chance came soon enough, and today, Costanza reports that he’s feeling better than ever.

“I feel like I have 30-year-old lungs. I couldn’t be more grateful to the entire URMC Cardiac Care team for the level of care and skill that has gone into allowing me to make a full recovery from heart surgery.”

Remarkably, several of Costanza’s doctors have independently reported to him that when they listen to his heart, they can detect no trace of his heart murmur—and, had they not known him already—they would have never suspected he had undergone open heart surgery.

Today, Costanza is enjoying spending time with his wife Colleen and four adult children. His oldest son was recently married, and Costanza reports that he was able to keep up on the dance floor with the twenty-somethings. He’s back to the active pursuits with family, friends and colleagues that give his life so much meaning.

—Jon Sussman, 2022