Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR)
Roughly five million Americans are diagnosed with heart valve disease each year, Northwest Health - Porter's Center for Cardiovascular Medicine is proud to offer the region's first center dedicated exclusively to the intricacies of treating heart valve disease. Heart valve disease occurs when:
- Heart valve leaflets do not open normally (stenosis), which restricts blood flow, or
- Valves do not close properly (regurgitation), which causes leakage through the valve leaflets.
Symptoms
Symptoms of heart valve disease are very similar to that of coronary disease, such as chest pain, dizziness, shortness of breath, feeling of fatigue, loss of energy, palpitations and edema (particularly in the lower extremities).
Who should be evaluated?
Anyone with these symptoms should be evaluated. While heart valve disease can happen at any age, those older than 60 are at a higher risk for valve diseases such as aortic stenosis.
Our Approach to Valvular Disease
- Board certified and specially trained in advanced diagnostics
- Guideline-based care* using a heart team approach
- Individualized treatment plan developed and communicated within 24 hours
- Ongoing patient follow-up through all stages of care
* 2014 AHA/ACC Guidelines for follow-up care
Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR)
Northwest Health - Porter is among the first in Northern Indiana to perform transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) and one of only three facilities accredited by the American College of Cardiology in the state of Indiana.
Now patients suffering from aortic stenosis, or hardening of the heart’s aortic valve, may have the opportunity to have a transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) if recommended by their physician. This advanced procedure allows patients to undergo an aortic heart valve replacement without open heart surgery.
The TAVR procedure allows physicians to replace the heart valve by accessing the heart through the femoral artery in the thigh. Using image-guided equipment, the new valve is expanded in place of the diseased valve and the catheter is removed. This allows Northwest Health - Porter's heart team physicians to make only a small incision in the upper thigh and a small incision in the chest, as opposed to completely opening up the chest cavity like in open heart surgery. The TAVR procedure typically only takes about two hours, and patients can expect to spend up to two days in the hospital.
For more information on treatments for heart valve disease, please call the nurse navigator at (219) 983-8532.