Actors Tyler Ritter, Amy Yasbeck headline annual Aortic Awareness Day

Surgeon Ben Degner and division chief Sam Sears say they aim to make Greenville a global center for aortic care

East Carolina University and ECU Health welcomed Amy Yasbeck and Tyler Ritter, widow and son of the late actor John Ritter and founders of The John Ritter Foundation for Aortic Health, along with patients, families, caregivers and more to the third annual Aortic Awareness Day Friday at the East Carolina Heart Institute.

Tyler and Hannah Johnson speak to Tyler Ritter at a reception the evening before Aortic Awareness Day. Hannah had aortic root replacement surgery in January. (Photo by Bobby Ampezzan)

Aortic disease accounts for about 50,000 deaths in the United States alone. Symptoms of aortic disease feel like other ailments. Patients are often asymptomatic until a dissection — a rupture — leaves them with mere hours to live. One advance in treatment, said Dr. Benjamin Degner, an assistant professor in the cardiovascular sciences department and cardiac surgeon at ECU Health, has been properly identifying and weighing family history as a risk factor.

“There’s certainly genetic mutations within families that put people at risk — that needs to be the first thing to identify,” Degner said. “It is much easier to treat someone electively, or manage them, knowing they have aortic disease instead of waiting until it’s devastating.”

John Ritter suffered an aortic dissection while filming on the set of “8 Simple Rules” in 2003. At the hospital, he was misdiagnosed with a heart attack and given blood thinners. He died on Sept. 11, 2003.

“On September 10, I had no idea what an aorta was — those were the days,” said Tyler Ritter. “If you knew Dad, you would understand how incomprehensible it was to imagine his [death]. … His tank was so full of joy, and love, and life.”

Soon after, Yasbeck worked to found his namesake foundation, arguably the world’s leading fundraiser and supporter of awareness and research into aortic disease and dissections. According to a 2024 annual report, it has enrolled over 1,500 families in research studies meant to identify risk factors and improve outcomes.

Degner, along with Dr. Sam Sears, an ECU professor in the departments of psychology and cardiovascular sciences, said the foundation has been an irreplaceable partner in their efforts to make the program at ECU Health a world-class center for aortic care.

“We get asked, ‘Why would you do this in Greenville? Why ECU?’ Well, it turns out there’s a long history of innovation of being the first in the world here,” Degner said, reflecting on the groundbreaking robotic heart surgeries performed by departmental colleague and surgeon Dr. Randolph Chitwood. “We can do the same for our aortic program — we want to be the model, the center for how you treat patients better.”

‘We Focus on the Whole Patient’

The ECU Health Aortic Program has grown substantially in just a few years. In the most recent annual report, the clinic recorded 1,039 patient visits in 2025, nearly ten times the volume just seven years earlier. Forty-five cardiac aortic surgeries were completed in 2025, and this year is on pace for 60. The program’s multidisciplinary team includes specialists in cardiothoracic surgery, vascular surgery, psychology, nursing, exercise physiology and medicine.

One area that sets the ECU Health aortic program apart is the groundbreaking psychological studies of Sears and his team of researchers.

“In many ways, aortic disease is not just a vascular problem. It’s also presenting a behavioral problem,” Sears said, “a tendancy to want to withdraw, shut down or disengage. If we can’t do what we want to do, it’s hard to enjoy life.”

Sears and his team have published numerous papers analyzing patient activity levels following surgery. Many aortic disease and sudden cardiac arrest patients, especially, fear what might happen if they exercise vigorously. His work is aimed at “whole patient care” — the effort not just to stabilize an aorta but restore a life to full activity without anxiety, Sears explained.

“We focus on the whole patient,” Sears said. “We certainly care about outstanding surgical outcomes, but we are just as committed to helping patients regain confidence, manage the emotional impact of their diagnosis and return to active, meaningful lives.”

Recent milestones for the program include the implantation of the first hybrid thoracic aortic arch device in North Carolina, expansion of dedicated advanced practice support for aortic patients and the addition of genetic testing services to help identify inherited aortic conditions and guide care for patients and families.

The third Aortic Awareness event built on momentum generated last year when about 125 attendees heard from Meredith Ford O’Neal, chief executive officer of the John Ritter Foundation and an aortic dissection survivor.

‘Not Many Are Privileged To Have an Elective Surgery’

One of the aortic patients in attendance was Hannah Johnson of Durham. Johnson was diagnosed with Marfan syndrome 20 years ago as a child. Regular imaging helped to monitor her aortic health. Two years ago she married Tyler Johnson, a gym teacher.

“We always knew heart surgery was destined for me at some point,” she said.

That destiny arrived on Jan. 7 after an echocardiogram revealed her aortic root had dilated. Her surgery would be performed by Degner and his team.

“People have asked, ‘You live near Duke [University] and Chapel Hill, why are you going here?’” she said. “The closeness, the personability. Everyone [at ECU Health] knows each other by name. They check in with me.”

Tyler Johnson’s chief concern before his wife’s surgery was her projected activity levels after. Johnson’s aortic root replacement surgery went well, and the couple soon had their answer.

“I was more fatigued before the surgery,” she said. “I’ve experienced a jolt.

“Surgery has changed my outlook on life. Life for me has started post-aortic root replacement.”

As the event concluded, attendees had opportunities to converse with Yasbeck and Ritter, connect with fellow patients and families, and learn more about advancements in surgical and comprehensive care. The aortic program has received about $80,000 in dedicated philanthropic support, helping fund program growth and fuel community awareness.

“Like Dr. Degner said, not many people are privileged enough to have an elective surgery,” Hannah Johnson said. “I would tell anyone this, aortic disease is not an old person’s disease.”

Actor Amy Yasbeck (second from left) and Dr. Sam Sears (right) at a reception at Native Diner Thursday along with several of Sears’ researchers Melih Dogan, Dina Dejanovic, Araceli Flores and Sam McCray.

More Stories