A CT doctor did heart surgery on a mother and son in a scenario he called ‘unique.’ Here’s why.

Hartford Courant – Thursday, May 7, 2026
By Helen I. Bennett

Marc Gaudiosi went to a CVS Minute Clinic last year because he thought he had sinus infection or the flu.

He was wrong.

A nurse who cared for him there listened to Gaudiosi’s heart and heard a murmur, he said. “It was purely coincidental,” he said, despite what he learned later were symptoms, such as shortness of breath, that he had a heart issue. He had not realized it then.

“You don’t really realize it … I was symptomatic and you don’t realize it,” he said.

But the nurse hearing the murmur meant a trip for Gaudiosi to see his cardiologist. That doctor gave Gaudiosi a directive: Go to Dr. Sabet Hashim, chairman of cardiac surgery and co-physician-in-chief of the Hartford HealthCare Heart and Vascular Institute at Hartford Hospital. Gaudiosi needed mitral valve repair.

It was a Hartford HealthCare name Gaudiosi recognized.

Hashim had 28 years ago repaired the same heart issue for Gaudiosi’s mother, Jean Gaudiosi. “Once we heard who it was, it was a relief,” Marc Gaudiosi said.

Hashim said the health issue, leaky mitral valve disease, does not follow a law or rule of genetic inheritance, but occasionally there can be a family pattern. The heart problem, he said, occurs when blood flows in the wrong direction, back into the left atrium, rather than into the body as it should.

“The left atrium doesn’t like it, now [with] blood pumped into it … It gets distended and that causes problems. It gets bigger and then the rhythm center embedded there gets chaotic,” he said.

Hashim described the correct flow of blood in the heart as “a one way” path, “not two ways.”

Hashim said that when the left atrium gets high pressure, then the lungs get high pressure and that causes shortness of breath, as your body is not getting all the blood it deserves, and people have less energy and less stamina. It’s a “heart who is working overtime,” he said, and it would get weaker.

While both of the Gaudiosis had the mitral valve issue, Hashim said procedures had evolved in the time between mother and son having the surgery.

“They were repaired differently,” Hashim said, also noting in the younger Gaudiosi’s case, the surgical approach was from the side, which meant the sternum did not have to be opened and recovery is faster, with fewer issues after surgery

“The same disease 28 years apart,” he said, with the same result but the “approach was different and both had good results.”

Speaking of Jean Gaudiosi’s care, Hashim said he consulted with her and decided the best option was to repair her valve so that it would stop leaking, rather than installing a new valve.

“I did what is best for her,” he said. “The better operation is to repair the valve; you are talking about your own valve that’s alive… keeping the architecture of the heart intact.”

Jean Gaudiosi said her recovery was “excellent” and she was able to go back to her job and a normal life. “Everything worked out perfectly,” she said.

Marc Gaudiosi, who also had his valve repaired last year, rather than replaced, described his recovery as “terrific” and “a breeze” with a lack of pain.

Hashim said while he has in the past operated on siblings, that having a mother and son as patients, “This scenario is unique … Jean and Marc are special.”

Marc Gaudiosi works full-time in finance and also is the lead guitarist of the band “Streetcar Revenge.” The band just inked a record deal and he has shows coming up, he said. Jean Gaudiosi is an office manager and said she enjoys working. Both live in the Waterbury area.

Marc Gaudiosi said that after his experience, his advice to people would be, “if you feel off, get it checked.”

Hashim said with the type of repair he did, which is not the choice of every heart surgeon, patients do not require an operation every few years. He said that Hartford HealthCare “is leading the nation in cardiac surgery” using objective criteria and when it comes to such care, “you need a specialized surgeon in a specialized center.”

Hashim was referring to Hartford Hospital again earning the highest rating nationally from The Society of Thoracic Surgeons for cardiac surgery, achieving what is called 18 out of 18 stars. It is the fourth consecutive perfect score, according to Hartford HealthCare.

The Society of Thoracic Surgeons rating for a hospital “is purely about outcome — it is how the patients do with cardiac” care, Hashim said.

“They are weighed and they are tabulated. Three stars, 18 to get in six categories. That is really incredible … we are very proud of it and there is no bias in it,” Hashim said.

Jeffrey A. Flaks, president and CEO of Hartford HealthCare, said the STS scores “represent the very best a system or hospital can achieve — but what truly matters is what they mean for patients.”

“They reflect extraordinary teams who show up every day with skill, compassion, and an unwavering commitment to doing what’s right,” Flaks said. “We are immensely proud and deeply grateful to our colleagues across Hartford HealthCare, whose pursuit of excellence translates directly into lives changed and lives saved. This is truly what it’s all about.”

Access this article at its original source.