Structural Heart & Valve Care

Structural Heart and Valve Care:

Navicent Health is dedicated to providing excellent patient care. When it comes to cardiac and structural heart care, the Luce Heart Institute is a provider of advanced therapy. Our multidisciplinary team comprised of healthcare providers from a variety of specialties, including interventional cardiology, cardiothoracic surgery, and cardiac imaging are there to provide compassionate care to you or a loved one with a condition of the heart or heart valves that controls the flow of blood to and from the heart. We deliver care through the healthcare continuum from diagnosis to treatment. With dedication to providing emerging technology, it's expert care close to home.

Structural Heart and Valve Clinic:

Each patient is unique and requires individual care. The structural clinic is meant to provide specialty care to those patients with conditions that affect the flow of blood in the heart. We treat patients with diseases of the heart valves and atrial septal defects, as well as left atrial appendage closures to reduce stroke risk due to AFib.

Specialities:

What is Atrial Fibrillation (AFib or AF)?

Atrial Fibrillation (AFib or AF) is a quivering or irregular heartbeat that can lead to blood clots, stroke, heart failure and other heart related problems.

Treatment:

Watchman™ (Left Atrial Appendage Closure device)

The Left atrial appendage is a structure originating from the left atrium (top left chamber) of the heart. Patients with atrial fibrillation are at risk for developing blood clots in this structure if not treated with anticoagulants. At times, patients are unable to participate in anticoagulation therapy due to occupation hazards, bleeding, or are at high risk of bleeding due to falls. WATCHMAN™ is a device used to close or occlude the left atrial appendage if deemed appropriate by a physician.

What is a Balloon Aortic Valvulplasty (BAV)?

Balloon aortic valvulplasty, or BAV, is a non-surgical procedure where a balloon is inflated within the aortic valve to provide symptom relief. Results are typically short-lived and not a good long-term solution and often serves as a bridge to valve replacement or as a palliative option.

What is Mitral Regurgitation (MR)?

Mitral regurgitation (MR) is a condition that affects the mitral valve. The mitral valve has two flaps of tissue that open and close to ensure that blood flows in only one direction. Mitral regurgitation occurs when the mitral valve fails to close completely and blood leaks backward inside your heart.

Treatment for MR:

MitraClip™ is a non-surgical procedure indicated for people with significant symptomatic degenerative mitral regurgitation who are not candidates for surgical mitral valve replacement due to prohibitive risk. The device is placed using a minimally invasive, catheter-based approach and real-time imaging. Patients generally are discharged home within three days.

What is Transaortic Valve Replacement (TAVR)?

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement, or TAVR, is a non-surgical procedure performed with local anesthesia in which a special catheter (hollow tube) is threaded into a blood vessel in the groin and guided into the heart. This procedure is much less invasive than open heart surgery and enables the implantation of a new valve without the need of opening the chest.

Which patients are right for TAVR?

• TAVR is indicated for patients with severe aortic valve stenosis and patients with failed bio-prosthetic surgical aortic valves.
• TAVR is approved for patients who are ineligible for surgical aortic valve replacement, high-risk patients, intermediate-risk patients and low-risk patients.
• The Heart Team will evaluate you to determine your surgical risk and candidacy for the procedure. The surgical risk is based on a number of factors, including prior surgeries, presence of other diseases, age and your overall physical condition. You will meet with our Heart Team of nurses, interventional cardiologists, and cardiac surgeons.

What types of valves are used for TAVR?

Currently there are two types of TAVR valves. Those are self-expanding and Balloon expandable. Multiple factors surround the decision for the best type of valve for an individual patient.

1. Edwards Sapien™:

   The Sapien&tade; transcather aortic valve is made of natural tissue from a cow’s heart (bovine). The tissue leaflets are secured on a ballon-expanding, cobalt-chromium frame.

   

2. Medtronic CoreValve™:

   The CoreValve™/Evolute™ transcatheter aortic valve is made of natural tissue from a pig’s heart (porcine). The tissue leaflets are secured on the flexible, self-expanding nickel-titanium frame.

   

View TAVR Patient Testimony Video