Treating the Heart Without the Need for Open Heart Surgery
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With significant advancements in heart treatment, the days of open-heart surgery as the only option for complex heart conditions are mostly behind us. Today, minimally invasive procedures can be used in many cases, offering faster recovery times and fewer risks. While some emergent surgeries or life-saving measures may still require open-heart surgery, the majority of planned interventional procedures can be performed using a minimally invasive approach.
At MemorialCare Heart & Vascular Institute, we encourage our patients to ask their cardiologist or primary care physician about minimally invasive options. Our team wants to raise awareness that patients have the right to ask for the best medicine has to offer.
Interventional cardiology, often catheter-based, enables cardiologists to repair or correct a heart abnormality by creating a small incision at the groin and inserting a catheter up to the heart. Common heart abnormalities treated with interventional cardiology methods include mitral valve regurgitation and aortic valve stenosis.
Mitral valve regurgitation is a common form of heart valve disease where the valve between the left heart chambers does not close completely, causing blood to leak backward across the valve. If this leak is severe, it could lead to heart failure - this means the heart cannot pump enough blood for the body’s needs.
To treat mitral valve regurgitation and prevent future heart failure, patients can receive a life-changing non-surgical, minimally invasive procedure – transcatheter mitral valve repair (TMVR) – using the advanced MitraClipTM device. MitraClip is often recommended for patients with severe regurgitation who aren’t good candidates for valve replacement surgery, due to age or other complications.
The catheter leads the MitraClip device up to the mitral valve and pulls the mitral valve leaflets into better alignment so they can open and close more easily.
By permanently implanting the device to hold these leaflets together, the MitraClip effectively reduces the backflow of blood and helps restore proper valve function. This improved closure of the valve can alleviate symptoms and reduce the workload on the heart, which improves overall heart function and quality of life.
The MitraClip procedure offers notable advantages over traditional open-heart surgery; MitraClip is performed using smaller incisions and reduced trauma to the chest. This is especially significant for high-risk patients who might not be able to tolerate open-heart surgery due to age, underlying health issues or frailty.
Another common condition that can be treated without open heart surgery is aortic valve stenosis. Aortic stenosis occurs when the valve between the heart’s lower left chamber and the aorta is narrowed, preventing it from opening fully. This forces the heart to pump even harder to get blood to the rest of the body, and if left untreated, can lead to heart failure. Without timely intervention, this increased strain on the heart can significantly decrease quality of life and lead to life-threatening complications.
One common minimally invasive treatment used to treat aortic valve stenosis is transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). This procedure is performed similarly to the MitraClip procedure – the surgeon inserts a catheter through the groin to the aortic valve. The new valve is expanded and placed inside the damaged valve so it can immediately take over the role of regulating blood flow.
TAVR is another procedure beneficial for high-risk patients who might not be able to handle open-heart surgery due to age, underlying health issues or frailty. Benefits of TAVR include less pain, shorter hospitalization and recovery times, less scarring and reduced complications.
Working alongside our community cardiologists, the award-winning MemorialCare Heart & Vascular Institute offers a comprehensive, multidisciplinary, team-based approach to the evaluation and treatment of all heart conditions – from common to complex. For every patient’s case, we provide minimally invasive approaches to give them the best outcome and quality of life. Our team collaborates for each patient’s case to create an individualized plan of care.
Want to learn more about interventional heart treatments? Visit memorialcare.org/lbheart or call (844) 662-6484.
By: David Shavelle, M.D., chief of cardiology, MemorialCare Heart & Vascular Institute and Adult Cardiology & Interventional Lab Medical Director at Long Beach Medical Center