Toledo Hospital Offers New Nonsurgical Heart Valve Replacement
ProMedica Toledo Hospital is among the first hospitals in Northwest Ohio selected to offer a new, nonsurgical heart valve replacement procedure known as transcatheter aortic heart valve replacement, or TAVR.
TAVR is a new option for gravely ill patients with severe aortic valve stenosis – failing heart valves – who are not candidates for open-heart surgery. High-risk patients will be pre-screened to determine if TAVR is the best option.
TAVR was approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat patients with narrowing heart valves. The transcatheter valve was designed by Edwards Lifesciences, based in Irvine, Calif.
“ProMedica is dedicated to bringing the industry’s most cutting-edge treatment options to this region. TAVR promises to extend and enhance the quality of life for some severely ill patients,” said Dr. James Bingle, president of ProMedica Heart and Vascular Institutes.
Aortic stenosis may begin as a result of aging, rheumatic fever or a congenital abnormality. Typically, the valve tissue becomes scarred, inflamed or thickened. Calcium may collect on the valve, reducing the flexibility of the valve leaflets. As a result, patients may experience symptoms like chest pain, fatigue, and shortness of breath, lightheadedness, fainting or difficulty when exercising.
When aortic stenosis becomes severe and symptoms develop, it is life-threatening. As many as 50 percent of aortic stenosis patients with severe symptoms may die within two years due to disease progression.
A multidisciplinary team of interventional cardiologists and cardiothoracic surgeons is in the process of screening regional patients who may benefit from the TAVR procedure.
During the procedure, a balloon-expandable heart valve is placed into the body with a catheter. This allows the valve to be inserted through the groin artery instead of the patient having to undergo traditional open-heart surgery.
The TAVR procedure will be performed in the hospital’s new heart and vascular hybrid operating suite.
Dr. Michael Moront, cardiothoracic surgeon, is a leader in heart valve surgery and a member of the multidisciplinary team. He was instrumental in bringing TAVR to the region and says it will give hope to patients who are out of options.
“A procedure like TAVR has been a long time coming and we are very pleased to be the first hospital in the region to offer it,” Moront said.
For additional information about TAVR, call (419) 291-2077. 

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