Non-invasive procedure to replace aortic heart valves now available in El Paso
The Hospitals of Providence Sierra Campus performed its first Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement ( TAVR ) this week.
TAVR is a minimally invasive way to replace a patient’s narrowed aortic valve without traditional open-heart surgery and while the heart continues to beat, eliminating the need for a cardiopulmonary bypass. Transcatheter aortic valve replacement is a less invasive treatment option for those individuals with severe aortic stenosis who, because of age or other medical issues, might not be considered good candidates for traditional surgery. TAVR is performed by physicians experienced in interventional cardiology, advanced cardiac imaging, cardiothoracic surgery, and anesthesiology.
“This is an exciting technology for our community and it’s very significant that Sierra Campus was chosen as the first hospital in El Paso to offer the TAVR procedure to low-risk patients,” said Dr. Chalam Mulukutla , board-certified interventional cardiologist, who performed the procedure. “The Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement is a great technological breakthrough to treat patients through a less-invasive alternative and minimize the recovery time.”
Heart disease is the No. 1 cause of death in the U.S., killing more people every year than all forms of cancer combined. Severe aortic stenosis is a serious heart valve disease, which causes a narrowing of the aortic valve opening, and restricts the blood flow from the left ventricle to the aorta and may also affect the pressure in the left atrium.
Many patients with severe aortic stenosis are not treated because they are deemed unsuitable for surgery, have not received a definitive diagnosis or because they delay or decline the procedure for a variety of reasons. Patients who do not receive an aortic valve replacement ( AVR ) have no effective, long-term medical treatment option to prevent or delay their disease progression. Without it, severe symptomatic aortic stenosis is life-threatening – studies indicate that 50 percent of patients will not survive more than an average of two years after the onset of symptoms.
