Most people take things like the ability to get out of bed and walk down a flight of stairs for granted.

But for one Addiscombe woman, these things left her out of breath and unable to live life to the fullest.

Yvonne Burr, 87, of Bingham Road, was diagnosed with mild aortic stenosis (a type of heart valve disease) in 2003 and just five years late had to undergo a double heart bypass.

"I used to count the steps I would take to walk around; 25 to 30 steps and it would take me three minutes to get rested," Ms Burr said.

"When I was in bed, it would take me 30 seconds after I rolled over just to regain my breath."

More time passed, and in 2016 her diagnosis was changed severe aortic stenosis.

Part of a church choir, singing became increasingly more difficult for her.

She would often have to sit down and catch her breath for a few minutes simply after walking into church.

Ms Burr was advised she should have a replacement heart valve and discovered, after numerous tests, that she was a good candidate for a minimally invasive transcatheter aortic valve implantation procedure (TAVI).

However, before the TAVI procedure could take place, Ms Burr had to undergo an angioplasty in March 2017, where two stents were inserted. By this time her symptoms had worsened.

The TAVI procedure was carried out in June and Ms Burr was back home three days later.

"I was so lucky to have it done," she said.

"It's made a huge difference to my life and I can get around so much more easily now because of it."

The timing of the procedure was just right as well.

With Christmas coming up, Ms Burr wanted to make sure she wouldn't miss any concerts, and thanks to the procedure, she won't.

The news of her successful TAVI procedure, which took place at King’s College Hospital – part of King’s College Hospital – comes as the hospital celebrates 10 years since a TAVI was performed at the hospital.

Consultant cardiologist at King’s College Hospital, Dr Jonathan Byrne, said: “The introduction of this procedure has made a huge difference to patients with aortic stenosis in the local area, and in the rest of the South-East region, offering a treatment option for those unable to undergo open heart surgery. 

"New European guidelines have been updated to recommend TAVI for an expanded patient population, including those with ‘intermediate’ risk for conventional open heart surgery.

"This gives the potential for more patients in the UK to be treated with this procedure, and makes the service even more relevant to our patients. We are proud to offer a procedure which gives these patients the chance to live longer with a better quality of life.”