Poet as Patient

This NEJM Perspective by Richard Waring recounts his experience as a patient with atrial flutter and heart failure, facing a complex decision between redo open-heart surgery and transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). As a senior layout artist for the Journal and poet, Waring explores the emotional and literary dimensions of illness, weaving medical terminology into metaphor. After initial treatment with cardioversion and hospitalization, he awaits a TAVR procedure, ultimately receiving a SAPIEN bovine valve and recovering well. He captures the hospital experience in poetry, sharing verses with clinicians to foster connection. His narrative emphasizes the therapeutic interplay between creativity, language, and healing, highlighting the evolving role of TAVR, patient–doctor rapport, and medical artistry.

This NEJM Perspective by Richard Waring recounts his experience as a patient with atrial flutter and heart failure, facing a complex decision between redo open-heart surgery and transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). As a senior layout artist for the Journal and poet, Waring explores the emotional and literary dimensions of illness, weaving medical terminology into metaphor. After initial treatment with cardioversion and hospitalization, he awaits a TAVR procedure, ultimately receiving a SAPIEN bovine valve and recovering well. He captures the hospital experience in poetry, sharing verses with clinicians to foster connection. His narrative emphasizes the therapeutic interplay between creativity, language, and healing, highlighting the evolving role of TAVR, patient–doctor rapport, and medical artistry.