Aortic stenosis is a dangerous condition where the valve near the main artery of the heart becomes too small to pump blood to the rest of the body. YNN's Casey Bortnick reports.

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"Unbelievable. The whole thing has been unbelievable," said Robert Cecchini.

Just two weeks ago, Robert Cecchini and Janice Savey faced an uncertain future.

"They said I couldn't have open heart surgery because my lungs were so bad," said Savey.

Already dealing with respiratory problems, both were diagnosed with aortic stenosis. A dangerous condition where the valve near the main artery of the heart becomes too small to pump blood to the rest of the body. More than half of the patients diagnosed with condition die within two years.

"As we get older the valve gets less pliable," said Dr. Vijay Iyer.

Dr. Vijay Iyer is a cardiologist at Buffalo General Hospital. He headed one of the first surgical team in Western New York to perform a trans-catheter aortic valve replacement. A complex procedure where an artificial valve replaces the damaged one. Through a small incision, surgeons slowly thread the valve through blood vessels. Guided by x-ray, physicians use a balloon on the end of the catheter to put the new valve in place.

Dr. Iyer said, "The typical length of stay for these procedures is five days which is shorter than most surgical procedures."

Because it's a minimally invasive procedure these patients recover much faster than those who undergo open heart surgery.

"When I was in the ICU I felt like I could walk to Niagara Falls. I felt fantastic," said Cecchini.

But Dr. Iyer warns it's not for everybody. Only those who are too weak to handle traditional surgery will qualify. Those who do are experiencing good outcomes.

Cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. Hashmat Ashraf said, "the symptoms are gone they can breathe well, they can talk they can enjoy life otherwise they were totally limited. They would be visiting hospitals every few weeks with congestive heart failure."

Two weeks after the undergoing the procedure Janice and Robert are getting stronger.

"They told me I'm going to live another 20 years," said Cecchini.

It's a new sense of optimism that once seemed unlikely.

"I feel like there’s hope in my future," said Savey.