LOS ANGELES, Calif. (Ivanhoe Newswire) – More than five million people in the U.S. are living with congestive heart failure – it’s the most common diagnosis in hospitalized patients over the age of 65. Symptoms are often debilitating, leaving patients unable to live normal, active lives. But now, a new procedure is giving hope to patients who were running out of options and time. TTVR
Steven Willis gets emotional just thinking about what his life was like.
“It didn’t look very promising, especially when I was advised that I had a year to live,” he remembers.
Steven’s tricuspid valve was failing fast.
Scripps Memorial Hospital interventional cardiologist, Curtiss Stinis, MD mentions, “All the blood that comes from the lower body and the upper body goes through the tricuspid valve.”
Blood was flowing backward within Steven’s heart. Medications can work for awhile, and outcomes with open heart surgery are not good.
“Tricuspid regurgitation is one of the most ignored diseases of the heart because until recently, we really had minimal treatments for it,” Dr. Stinis adds.
Dr. Stinis used a new transcatheter tricuspid valve replacement, or TTVR, that anchors to the walls of the existing valve.
“This can all be put in through a tiny incision in the vein, in the groin without any type of open heart surgery,” explains.
Compared to open heart surgery, the procedure is minimally invasive, takes less time, the incision is smaller, there’s less risk of infection, and recovery time is quicker.
Steven left the hospital the very next morning. His symptoms are gone, and now at 81 …
“I’m doing yoga, Pilates, walking, gardening, you know, all sorts of things.”
TTVR is part of a clinical trial being done in 51 hospitals across the country. They are still enrolling eligible patients. They’re hoping what they find from the study will lead to FDA approval in a few years.
Contributors to this news report include: Marsha Lewis, Producer; Roque Correa, Videograpgher & Editor.
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Sources:
MEDICAL BREAKTHROUGHS
RESEARCH SUMMARY
TOPIC: OUT OF TIME AND OPTIONS: SAVING STEVEN’S HEART WITH TTVR
REPORT: MB #5157
BACKGROUND: Around one million Americans suffer with congestive heart failure and there are around 550,000 newly reported cases every year. Congestive heart failure can affect anyone at any age and is equally likely to occur In both men and women. Over half of people with congestive heart failure die. Deaths from the condition have increased by 12 percent in the last 50 years. The condition exists when the heart does not pump blood the way that it is supposed to. The heart muscle becomes less able to contract over time and is unable to fill with blood.
(Source:
DIAGNOSING: EKG Tests, Echocardiogram testing, MRIs, CT scans, PET scans, and biopsy or catheterization of the heart and arteries, are all common testing procedures to detect congestive heart failure. Congestive heart failure is commonly caused by high blood pressure and irregular heartbeats. The condition is monitored after diagnoses through close watch and alterations of daily procedures and daily routines. There are also many forms of medication, therapies, and pacemakers that are prescribed to those suffering with congestive heart diseases. Pacemakers and ventricular assist devices make it easier for the heart to pump blood and keep a regular beating pattern. Heart transplants are also an option in severe cases.
(Source
https://www.brighamandwomens.org/heart-and-vascular-center/resources/congestive-heart-failure
NEW TECHNOLOGY: A new procedure for congestive heart disease is on the horizon for thousands of individuals. A cardiologist from Scripps Health in San Diego used a new transcatheter tricuspid valve replacement technique that holds down the walls of the preexisting valve. This new procedure is minimally invasive compared to previous open-heart surgeries. It also requires less time, and a smaller incision. The margin for infection is far smaller and patients have reported a quicker and easier recovery period.
(Source:
https://www.scripps.org/news_items/7537-new-hope-on-horizon-for-heart-valve-patients
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THIS REPORT, PLEASE CONTACT:
Stephen Carpowich Keith Darce
Carpowich.stephen@scrippshealth.org darce.keith@scrippshealth.org
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