Abrazo Health’s Arrowhead Hospital offers a new minimally invasive procedure to treat patients with narrowed, failing aortic heart valves who are unable to have open heart surgery.

“Our Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR) program provides options to patients who have been denied life-saving therapy. These patients were deemed either inoperable or extremely high risk for open heart surgery,’’ said Dr. Michael Caskey, medical director of Arrowhead Hospital’s Structural Heart Program and Heart Murmur Clinic which opened in December.

TAVR is a minimally invasive, advanced heart procedure for patients suffering from severe aortic stenosis. With Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement, a small, thin flexible tube (catheter) holding the aortic heart valve is guided to the heart. Special imaging equipment is used to guide positioning and placement of the new heart valve.

Caskey said benefits may include:

  • Shorter time in the hospital.
  • Faster recovery.
  • Fewer complications.
  • Minimal blood loss.

Arrowhead Hospital’s collaborative, multidisciplinary team of interventional cardiologists, cardiac surgeons and other healthcare professionals are using the Medtronic CoreValve System to treat patients with severe aortic stenosis who are at high risk for surgery. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval in 2014 was based on research showing the TAVR had superior survival rates at one year when compared to open-heart surgery, the current gold standard for aortic valve replacement.

 

“Arrowhead is excited to add this life-saving therapy to our current comprehensive cardiac services. Keeping the needs of the patient as a primary focus of care, our commitment to being a leader in cardiovascular care for our community remains strong.” said Arrowhead Hospital CEO Frank Molinaro.

Tammy Querrey, a board certified- acute care nurse practitioner, is Arrowhead Hospital’s valve coordinator. She guides patients throughout the entire care process from assessment and education to scheduling appointments, preparing for the procedure, during the patient’s hospital stay and following up with the patient after 30 days and one year after their procedure.

Arrowhead Hospital’s Heart Murmur Clinic is inside the main hospital, 18701 N. 67th Ave. in Glendale.  More information is available at 1-844-8MURMUR.