The Beat Goes on: Bennie Littrell’s been a heart patient for more than 20 years and thanks to his medical team, he’s here to tell the tale... or have someone tell it for him

Bennie Littrell's got a story to tell but he's not going to be the one to tell it.

Bennie's wife Judy explains that her husband is a man of few words – an old country boy, she says - who doesn't like to talk about himself

But there's a message Bennie wants to share, maybe even needs to tell.

So the Littrell's called in a pinch hitter of sorts, a man who was conscious for significant parts of the story that Bennie was not.

Dr. Sunil Ramaprasad was just one member of the team of doctors who have worked diligently now for 20 years to keep Bennie alive.

The upside of having your heart doctor tell your story? He's going to have some significant details and the ability to explain the technical medical stuff.

The downside? He's gonna rag you about some of the behaviors that helped lead to the heart trouble in the first place.

"Bennie used to work at Walters State in the security Department," Dr. Ramaprasad said. "Work, work, work and then golf. I’m sure he's the only guy who golfed nine times a week."

Ramaprasad met Bennie in 2001 for an aortic valve problem. Essentially, the main valve in Bennie's heart was struggling to push his blood through the valve.

By 2005, Bennie was having symptoms like shortness of breath and chest pains because his heart was struggling to do its job.

"Despite that he was working full time, golfing overtime," Ramaprasad said.

The medical team had been monitoring the problematic valve and did an echo cardiogram and a heart cath. Bennie's valve was very narrow, causing a pressure issue like a kink in a hose. Luckily, Bennie's normal arteries were able to withstand surgery and so Dr. Michael Maggart was called in to bring his experienced hands to helping Bennie heal.

"Maggart must have operated on over 2,000 patients from Morristown," Ramaprasad said. "He's a wonderful friend and good surgeon who has saved a lot of lives."

One of those lives belonged to Bennie.

In August of 2006, the valve was replaced with a tissue valve, which typically has a lifespan of 12 to 15 years.

"Bennie was 71," Ramaprasad explained. "He had a will to exceed his valve's life."

But it wasn't always easy. In fact it wasn't easy from the start.

Ramprasad said that Maggart recalled that during Bennie's procedure the power went out at the hospital. They finished suturing the aortic root with two flashlights.

"Classic heart surgeon," Ramaprasad said. "Anybody would have panicked but Dr. Maggart, with his nerves of steel, was able to find a solution and take care of business."

In May of 2020, Bennie had a heart attack and collapsed at work. He was brought to Morristown-Hamblen Healthcare System where they found one artery completely blocked. Bennie had a stent placed in his heart.

Ramaprasad said the quick response at the hospital saved Bennie's life.

The door to balloon time – the time that Bennie entered the hospital until doctors were able to put a balloon in his chest to open the artery – was 40 minutes.

That time, Ramaprasad said, is much better than the national average and a time that team in Morristown has maintained for year.

"It shows how good the community does from the ambulance to the cath lab," he said.

Dr. Robert McQueen put a stint in Bennie's arteries to allow the blood to flow.

But Bennie wasn't out of the woods; the valve that Maggart had placed in Bennie's chest back in 2006 was reaching the end of its life-cycle.

By June of 2021, Bennie was experiencing extreme symptoms. He had to stand up. He couldn't lie down. He was racked with anxiety and nervousness, classic symptoms of a heart issue.

Ramaprasad took him to the cath lab and discovered the valve had completely fallen apart, the blood that was supposed to be pumping through was leaking back into the heart.

"It was a quite a dramatic presentation," Ramaprasad said.

Bennie sat with Maggart and Dr. Ayaz Rahman from Parkwest Medical Center in Knoxville. At 85, open heart surgery to remove the valve and inset another was deemed too dangerous.

A TVAR procedure was deemed the best option. Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement allows the surgeon to go up through a vein in the leg all the way up to the patient's heart. It's significantly less evasive with much quicker recovery time.

It's an overnight procedure. Ramaprasad the oldest patient he's had to perform a TAVR procedure on is 93 and is doing well.

"Bennie responded very well," Ramaprasad said. "Waking up, he told the people he was read to go home."

They prudently kept Bennie overnight but he is back to his old self and singing – or asking Judy to sing on his behalf – the praises of his doctors and the medical abilities of the Covenant System and MHHS in particular.

"He just wants everybody to know that he is effusive in his praise," Judy explained. "He is so thankful and appreciative of these wonderful medical professionals."

Ramaprasad said Bennie has demonstrated how the local medical community can keep up with the standard of care.

"Bennie's story is a story where we evolve," Ramaprasad said. "Thanks to cooperation we have had with Parkwest, it's a seamless procedure. They’re able to log in with video and communicate digitally. Years ago, I would be all by myself making the decision – what we have now is teamwork. It's a collective approach to what we do."

Bennie's new valve is good for another 8 to 10 years.

When the time comes that he needs another, his medical team will be ready.

"Knowing Bennie, he’ll be knocking on my door, asking for another procedure and we’ll have to be read for that," Ramaprasad said.

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