Replacing heart valves without open-heart surgery

Snaking a catheter through an artery in your groin and up to your heart might not sound like “fun” but when compared to open-heart surgery you have to ask yourself “eh, Why not?” Nearly 40 percent of all patients requiring aortic heart valve replacement are forced to live with a higher likelihood death due to heart failure because they are considered “inoperable”. UCLA’s new transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) solves this problem, and could save millions of lives. Unlike other minimally invasive procedures, TAVR needs neither incisions in the chest wall nor cardiopulmonary bypass to replace the aortic valve. The FDA has already approved TAVR for patients ineligible for open-heart surgery, and is considering approval for high-risk open-heart candidates. According to Dr. Richard. J. Shemin, chief of cardiothoracic surgery for the UCLA Health System, "many patients who were formerly bedridden and hopeless will be able to resume a more normal life with this novel new therapy."