POCATELLO - For Donald E. Kunz, quality of life is important. Still an avid outdoorsman at 76 years of age, his health had been in decline recently. A visit to the Portneuf Heart and Vascular Center pinpointed his problems.

Kunz had a coronary bypass performed in Utah in 1997. The open-heart procedure had served him well, but one of the grafts had become occluded over the years. A stent relieved that problem, but another issue still needed to be addressed.

"His mitral valve was really leaky," said Dr. Jacob DeLaRosa, Kunz's surgeon.

(For the rest of this story, pick up a copy of Saturday's Journal.)